Folks,
Today's Scripture Readings included the account of the healing of the demoniac in the region of the Gerasenes as recorded in Mark 5:1-20. This story is rendered with differing details in the Gospels, and with various spellings for the Gerasenes. But that isn't the point of this blog entry. Rather, the focus is on what the demons within the afflicted man called themselves (Legion for they were many), where the demons went once they were cast out, what happened to the swine into which they had been cast, and the reaction of fear on the part of the inhabitants of that region.
It so happens that the 10th Roman Legion (Legio Decum Gemina) was at this time stationed in Antioch with authority over the Decapolis and Judea to keep the peace and suppress revolts. One of its four mascots was the boar - a wild pig - and to Jews, the Roman Gentiles were by definition unclean pigs. So when Jesus cast out the legion of demons in the demoniac and thence into a nearby herd of swine which promptly committed suicide by running off a nearby cliff and into the water (probable the Lake of Galilee), everyone knew exactly what Jesus' actions meant:
The demons infecting the Jews with hypocrisy and self-righteousness would be cast out into the swine of the Gentile Romans who would eventually commit suicide themselves with pagan rot and decadence.
Thus, if word got out to the Romans about this miracle - indeed, if Jesus were allowed to continue performing such acts in the open - then it wouldn't be long before the 10th Legion came down on the region in its full fury to avenge the death of its mascot.
Does that sound crazy? Just read what the Gospel says is the reaction of the people:
Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened
to the possessed man and to the swine.
Then they began to beg him to leave their district.
Jesus was openly challenging the authority of the Roman State right from the beginning. And the Roman State eventually did self-destruct under the weight of the demonic immorality and perversion infecting it.
The same is today true of the liberal progressive Democratic United States of America. Those who fail to remember history are forever doomed to repeat it. Rome had its Tiberius Caesar, his boy play things, and his murderous court intrigues culminating in his suffocation at the hands of Caligula the Mad. We have our Barack Hussein Obama and his sanctification of sexual filth, perversion and the murder of unborn babies. The demons are now in the swine.
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Uprising in Egypt
Folks,
Dr. Pournelle at the Chaos Manor web site has good commentary on the uprising in Egypt:
The Revolt of the Masses
Mameluke Rule in Egypt?
My older brother suggested during a telephone conversation yesterday a similarity between this uprising against a US-friendly dictator and the uprising against the Shah of Iran in 1979. (And contrary to what Joe Biden claims, Mohamed Hosni Mubarak IS a dictator, albeit a somewhat benevolent one). The Romans put down a revolt in Egypt millennia ago. Under Julius Caesar, the great Library at Alexandria was burned to the ground, accidentally are we told. Today we have neither the stomach that Caesar had nor the resources to do the same (nor do I necessarily suggest that we do the same). Thus will the Suez Canal fall into extremist hands, and thus will Israel be threatened to the point of using nuclear weapons. Our dependency on foreign oil through the Suez Canal will become our undoing. In the meantime, the renaissance of cheap, clean and safe nuclear energy in the homeland languishes under the green energy schemes of that antichrist Barack Obama and his false prophet Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric.
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." 1st Thessalonians 5:2-4
Dr. Pournelle at the Chaos Manor web site has good commentary on the uprising in Egypt:
The Revolt of the Masses
Mameluke Rule in Egypt?
My older brother suggested during a telephone conversation yesterday a similarity between this uprising against a US-friendly dictator and the uprising against the Shah of Iran in 1979. (And contrary to what Joe Biden claims, Mohamed Hosni Mubarak IS a dictator, albeit a somewhat benevolent one). The Romans put down a revolt in Egypt millennia ago. Under Julius Caesar, the great Library at Alexandria was burned to the ground, accidentally are we told. Today we have neither the stomach that Caesar had nor the resources to do the same (nor do I necessarily suggest that we do the same). Thus will the Suez Canal fall into extremist hands, and thus will Israel be threatened to the point of using nuclear weapons. Our dependency on foreign oil through the Suez Canal will become our undoing. In the meantime, the renaissance of cheap, clean and safe nuclear energy in the homeland languishes under the green energy schemes of that antichrist Barack Obama and his false prophet Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric.
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." 1st Thessalonians 5:2-4
Pope Benedict XVI on the Beatitudes
Pope Benedict XVI's address on the Beatitudes in yesterday's Scripture Readings during the midday Angelus in St. Peter's Square may be found by left clicking your mouse cursor on the following hyperlinked text:
On the Beatitudes as a Program of Life
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Pete - A Poem by My Dad, Warren A. Towne
Folks,
The following poem was written long-hand with pen and paper by my Dad on April 18th, 1978. I was exactly 20 years old on that date, having just arrived at the Submarine base in New London, CT.
I have preserved Dad's misspellings intact. There is a reason for that: he was an old New England country gentleman, and as such, the text is intended to be pronounced with the typical New England country drawl. I did however have one difficulty in transcribing the poem into electronic form: line 2 in stanza 24 and line 4 in stanza 29 were not completely readable, so the text in parentheses are what I conjecture is written.
My Dad was a prolific even if uneducated poet and sadly this is the only work of his that I am aware has survived. I found it as I was unpacking in my new place of residency. Please note that this poem isn't meant to be technically accurate; rather, let the reader pay attention to the feelings being evoked. I wonder if Dad (being Pentecostal) realized he was writing about the first Pope.
Pete
I
A man named Pete,
Fisherman by trade,
Met a strange Preacher Man
One long ago day.
II
Pete had been a fishin’,
Caught not a thing,
Was fixin’ up the nets
To go try agin.
III
When along came a Preacher
With a big crowd of folk,
Needed a pulpit,
Borrowed Pete’s boat.
IV
Preached a good sermon,
Helped folks a lot,
Turned back to Pete
And gave him quite a shock.
V
Said, “Throw out yer nets,
Out thar into the deep.”
Cause He appreciated
The boat He got from Pete.
VI
Now Pete had fished all night
And caught not a thing,
But by the Preacher’s say-so
He tried her once agin.
VII
He throwed out a net
And fish filled it up.
Net commenced to break
And Pete got some help.
VIII
Pulled in the fish
And Pete was full of fright.
He did a few things
That he figured wasn’t right.
IX
Cried, “Depart from me, Oh Lord,
For I am a sinful man.”
Fellership with Him
Pete didn’t think he can.
X
But preacher said, “Now Pete,
If you’ll just faller Me,
Fisherman of men
I’ll make thee.
XI
So Pete left the boat
And the nets thar behind
And saw many things
Never thought by mere mortal mind.
XII
He watched the Preacher walk
Upon the troubled sea.
He watched the Preacher heal
The eyes that couldn’t see.
XIII
He watched the Preacher open
The ears that couldn’t hear.
He watched the Preacher heal
Sick folk far and near.
XIV
He watched the Preacher raise
People from the dead.
He heard the preacher preach
Best sermons ever said.
XV
He heard the Preacher say
He would die and rise again.
The truthfulness of this message
Pete couldn’t understand.
XVI
He watched the Preacher’s
Popularity start to fallin off.
He watched the Preacher make His way
To an awful gruesome Cross.
XVII
He watched the Preacher die
With forgiveness in His prayer.
As bitter tears washed down his cheeks,
Pete’s heartfelt black despair.
XVIII
He watched the Preacher die,
Knew He was put in the tomb.
Pete’s hope died with the preacher
Who was a friend so True.
XIX
But three days later, suthin’ happened
A rumor went around,
The Preacher had come back to life
And was not in the ground.
XX
Well, Pete came runnin’ to the tomb
And found the Preacher gone.
Confusion hit poor Pete so hard.
He wondered what was done.
XXI
But later on in an upper room
The Preacher, Who was dead,
Appeared to Pete and proved to him,
He did as He had said.
XXII
But later on, and still confused,
Pete said, “I go fishin’,”
And went for fish instead of men,
Which was his given mission.
XXIII
He fished all day and nothin’ caught,
So much like once before,
And heard a call from a Stranger Man
A’ standin’ on the shore.
XXIV
“Hey thar, boys, what have ye caught?”
[The voice seemed] familiar allright.
Pete hollered back, “We’ve nothin’ caught,
Been fishin’ here all night.”
XXV
The Stranger cried, “Then throw a net
On the right hand side of the boat.”
And once again Pete took advice
And did as a Stranger spake.
XXVI
Throwed in a net, fish filled it up,
But the net, it did not break.
Disciple John cried out, “’Tis the Lord.”
And Pete, he come awake.
XXVII
Jumped overboard into the drink
And swimmin’ straight for shore.
The voice, advice and result,
Too much like once before.
XXVIII
The boys brought in the boat and fish.
As Pete come up the beach,
The Stranger had some fish all cooked
And ready thar to eat.
XXIX
And one one asked Him who He was,
The Stranger they well knew
Was that same Preacher they travelled with
Who always told them [to fish for men.]
XXX
And they eat in Blessed fellership
That grand and glorious morn
With that wonderful Stranger, Preacher Man,
Christ Jesus, their Blessed Lord.
XXXI
As it happened to Pete, it’ll happen to us
At the Marriage Feast of the Lamb
If Christ Jesus is our Lord
And we’re doin’ the best that we can.
The following poem was written long-hand with pen and paper by my Dad on April 18th, 1978. I was exactly 20 years old on that date, having just arrived at the Submarine base in New London, CT.
I have preserved Dad's misspellings intact. There is a reason for that: he was an old New England country gentleman, and as such, the text is intended to be pronounced with the typical New England country drawl. I did however have one difficulty in transcribing the poem into electronic form: line 2 in stanza 24 and line 4 in stanza 29 were not completely readable, so the text in parentheses are what I conjecture is written.
My Dad was a prolific even if uneducated poet and sadly this is the only work of his that I am aware has survived. I found it as I was unpacking in my new place of residency. Please note that this poem isn't meant to be technically accurate; rather, let the reader pay attention to the feelings being evoked. I wonder if Dad (being Pentecostal) realized he was writing about the first Pope.
Pete
I
A man named Pete,
Fisherman by trade,
Met a strange Preacher Man
One long ago day.
II
Pete had been a fishin’,
Caught not a thing,
Was fixin’ up the nets
To go try agin.
III
When along came a Preacher
With a big crowd of folk,
Needed a pulpit,
Borrowed Pete’s boat.
IV
Preached a good sermon,
Helped folks a lot,
Turned back to Pete
And gave him quite a shock.
V
Said, “Throw out yer nets,
Out thar into the deep.”
Cause He appreciated
The boat He got from Pete.
VI
Now Pete had fished all night
And caught not a thing,
But by the Preacher’s say-so
He tried her once agin.
VII
He throwed out a net
And fish filled it up.
Net commenced to break
And Pete got some help.
VIII
Pulled in the fish
And Pete was full of fright.
He did a few things
That he figured wasn’t right.
IX
Cried, “Depart from me, Oh Lord,
For I am a sinful man.”
Fellership with Him
Pete didn’t think he can.
X
But preacher said, “Now Pete,
If you’ll just faller Me,
Fisherman of men
I’ll make thee.
XI
So Pete left the boat
And the nets thar behind
And saw many things
Never thought by mere mortal mind.
XII
He watched the Preacher walk
Upon the troubled sea.
He watched the Preacher heal
The eyes that couldn’t see.
XIII
He watched the Preacher open
The ears that couldn’t hear.
He watched the Preacher heal
Sick folk far and near.
XIV
He watched the Preacher raise
People from the dead.
He heard the preacher preach
Best sermons ever said.
XV
He heard the Preacher say
He would die and rise again.
The truthfulness of this message
Pete couldn’t understand.
XVI
He watched the Preacher’s
Popularity start to fallin off.
He watched the Preacher make His way
To an awful gruesome Cross.
XVII
He watched the Preacher die
With forgiveness in His prayer.
As bitter tears washed down his cheeks,
Pete’s heartfelt black despair.
XVIII
He watched the Preacher die,
Knew He was put in the tomb.
Pete’s hope died with the preacher
Who was a friend so True.
XIX
But three days later, suthin’ happened
A rumor went around,
The Preacher had come back to life
And was not in the ground.
XX
Well, Pete came runnin’ to the tomb
And found the Preacher gone.
Confusion hit poor Pete so hard.
He wondered what was done.
XXI
But later on in an upper room
The Preacher, Who was dead,
Appeared to Pete and proved to him,
He did as He had said.
XXII
But later on, and still confused,
Pete said, “I go fishin’,”
And went for fish instead of men,
Which was his given mission.
XXIII
He fished all day and nothin’ caught,
So much like once before,
And heard a call from a Stranger Man
A’ standin’ on the shore.
XXIV
“Hey thar, boys, what have ye caught?”
[The voice seemed] familiar allright.
Pete hollered back, “We’ve nothin’ caught,
Been fishin’ here all night.”
XXV
The Stranger cried, “Then throw a net
On the right hand side of the boat.”
And once again Pete took advice
And did as a Stranger spake.
XXVI
Throwed in a net, fish filled it up,
But the net, it did not break.
Disciple John cried out, “’Tis the Lord.”
And Pete, he come awake.
XXVII
Jumped overboard into the drink
And swimmin’ straight for shore.
The voice, advice and result,
Too much like once before.
XXVIII
The boys brought in the boat and fish.
As Pete come up the beach,
The Stranger had some fish all cooked
And ready thar to eat.
XXIX
And one one asked Him who He was,
The Stranger they well knew
Was that same Preacher they travelled with
Who always told them [to fish for men.]
XXX
And they eat in Blessed fellership
That grand and glorious morn
With that wonderful Stranger, Preacher Man,
Christ Jesus, their Blessed Lord.
XXXI
As it happened to Pete, it’ll happen to us
At the Marriage Feast of the Lamb
If Christ Jesus is our Lord
And we’re doin’ the best that we can.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thoughts on Today's Scripture Readings
Folks,
Today's Scripture Readings for the Liturgy of the Word during Mass included excerpts from Hebrews 11, the Faith chapter, and Mark 4:35-41, the story of Jesus calming the stormy waters that threatened to flood the boat in which He and the disciples were traveling. Verse 38 in Mark 4 states:
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
The following thought on this verse was provided by Bible Commentary to which I sometimes refer:
Sometimes Christ seems as if He were asleep, unconcerned in the troubles of His people, and does not presently appear for their relief...His disciples' confidence lay in this, that they had their Master with them. The ship that has Christ in it, though it may be tossed, cannot sink.
Thus do we have all the examples of unwavering, unswerving faith listed in Hebrews 11: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets...who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions, put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword's point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth. Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.
Thus we come to verses one and two in chapter 12 of the Epistle to the Hebrews: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.
Perhaps Jesus is asleep in the stern of the boat; but then let us ask ourselves: did we put Him in the stern to sleep, or in the pilot's place to pilot?
The Church today in Europe and North America faces the twin threats of Islamic fascism and atheist humanism while being wracked from within by the infestation of liberal heresy and apostasy. Yet in the 1500s the Church faced the twin threats of the Ottoman Muslim Turks to the east and the Calvinist, Lutheran and Anglican rebellion in the west while being wracked from within by the abuse of Indulgences. Yet the gates of hell did not prevail back then and will not prevail today. "Peace, be still" is what Jesus commanded in Mark 4:39, and that command still applies today.
Today's Scripture Readings for the Liturgy of the Word during Mass included excerpts from Hebrews 11, the Faith chapter, and Mark 4:35-41, the story of Jesus calming the stormy waters that threatened to flood the boat in which He and the disciples were traveling. Verse 38 in Mark 4 states:
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"
The following thought on this verse was provided by Bible Commentary to which I sometimes refer:
Sometimes Christ seems as if He were asleep, unconcerned in the troubles of His people, and does not presently appear for their relief...His disciples' confidence lay in this, that they had their Master with them. The ship that has Christ in it, though it may be tossed, cannot sink.
Thus do we have all the examples of unwavering, unswerving faith listed in Hebrews 11: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets...who by faith conquered kingdoms, did what was righteous, obtained the promises; they closed the mouths of lions, put out raging fires, escaped the devouring sword; out of weakness they were made powerful, became strong in battle, and turned back foreign invaders. Women received back their dead through resurrection. Some were tortured and would not accept deliverance, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others endured mockery, scourging, even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed in two, put to death at sword's point; they went about in skins of sheep or goats, needy, afflicted, tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in deserts and on mountains, in caves and in crevices in the earth. Yet all these, though approved because of their faith, did not receive what had been promised. God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect.
Thus we come to verses one and two in chapter 12 of the Epistle to the Hebrews: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.
Perhaps Jesus is asleep in the stern of the boat; but then let us ask ourselves: did we put Him in the stern to sleep, or in the pilot's place to pilot?
The Church today in Europe and North America faces the twin threats of Islamic fascism and atheist humanism while being wracked from within by the infestation of liberal heresy and apostasy. Yet in the 1500s the Church faced the twin threats of the Ottoman Muslim Turks to the east and the Calvinist, Lutheran and Anglican rebellion in the west while being wracked from within by the abuse of Indulgences. Yet the gates of hell did not prevail back then and will not prevail today. "Peace, be still" is what Jesus commanded in Mark 4:39, and that command still applies today.
The State of the Union Address and GE Ecomagination
Folks,
I confess that I neither watched nor read Obama's State of the Union address. Frankly, the man is an egotistical idiot. That alone disqualifies him as being THE antichrist. But with his promotion of baby murdering, sodomy and the rest of the immoral filth of this wicked generation, he is certainly AN antichrist in the tradition of 1st John 2:18-23.
As usual, Dr. Pournelle of the Chaos Manor web site has excellent commentary at the following web pages:
State of the Union
State of the Union: Education: Path to Nowhere
Green Energy and Ham
A few excerpts from Dr. Pournelle's analysis of Obama's green energy policy are in order:
Now if Green Energy meant a real campaign to build nuclear power plants -- even a Federal nuclear TVA rather than a reform of the red tape bureaucracy that prevents any actual construction -- we might be able to swallow the high speed rails as the Cold Warriors swallowed much of the Great Society as the price for being allowed to fight the USSR. That, however, doesn't seem to be the process. Green Energy will always end up meaning wind, bio, and solar, none of which are going to produce low cost energy to spark a new industrial revolution. So it goes...
...The end of this game is loss for the Republicans. Obama is hoping to rope in enough Republicans to give a national unity face to his plans for Green Energy and high speed trains; and Green Energy always means solar, bio, and wind, with perhaps a soupcon of tide, along with endless studies of nuclear. All told it will not produce enough energy to run a first world economy in your lifetime, but it will redistribute wealth, and not in any equalitarian way. The end result will be a new class structure, with enormously wealthy and powerful on top, civil servants in the middle, and everyone else much worse off. Equal, but not doing so well. Big central planning ventures always end that way.
It is interesting to note that now we are seeing an increase in all sorts of General Electric commercials on the television about its greatest, technological prowess and green energy "ecomagination" ideas. This is to be expected given the fact that Obama has rewarded GE CEO Jeff Immelt with an economic advisory position in his Administration for the fine service rendered by GE's MS NBC in promoting the godless liberal progressive agenda of utter wickedness. In the meantime, while GE promotes wind power, its initiatives to build "ecofriendly" Advanced and Economically Simplified Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR and ESBWR) in the United States are stalled in neutral. Twenty year investments that benefit the country are of no interest to Jeff Immelt whose concern lies with next calendar quarter's profit and how much political power he can obtain by ingratiating himself with that antichrist in the Whitehouse. Oh yes, GE is resubmitting its ABWR certification to the US NRC, only after Toshiba submitted its certification (what an embarrassment that is!).
No, folks, all of the following information is freely available in the public domain (e.g., US NRC, GE's public web site, news media releases, etc.) GE in the 1990s came up with this concept of an Advanced Boiling Water Reactor. Instead of having external Reactor Water Recirculating Pumps, then were put internal into the reactor vessel, obviating the need for jet pumps in the annular region and all the problems they cause. The US NRC certified the design, but none were built in the US. Instead, they were built in Japan and Taiwan. Toshiba helped with the building in Japan. Then as GE saw natural gas rise in ascendancy in the 90s, and lack of sufficient revenue from nuclear, it sold the rights to the ABWR design to Toshiba. No one ever thought that a few years later Toshiba would buy GE's competitor, Westinghouse, and nobody thought that a US nuclear utility would every have Toshiba and Westinghouse build a Boiling Water Reactor. Yet that's exactly what happened. The South Texas Project will be a GE ABWR built by GE's competitor. So when Toshiba and Westinghouse recently submitted the ABWR design for re-certification, that took GE by surprise caused much embarrassment. Thus, GE had to submit its own bid for recertification. In the meantime, GE is all so concerned with protecting its proprietary intellectual information.
While this is all going on, GE came up with a rehash of its old Simplified Boiling Water Reactor idea that it called "Economical" - hence ESBWR. The idea was reliance on natural circulation (obviating the need for forced Reactor Water Recirculation flow via pumps), and use of complete passive safety systems. It truly is an excellent idea and a great design. So some utilities signed up for it: Dominion, Entergy and Exelon. But when they requested GE to give them a fix price, GE couldn't asked them to pay to design the idea. That's like you or me going into the Toyota dealer and asking for a new car and him telling us we have to first pay him to design it. What horse manure! Of course the utilities backed out! Now ESBWR is stalled in neutral and going nowhere fast.
We can see from history that GE and more recently its current leader Jeff Immelt is just as clueless as that jerk in the Whitehouse. Thus, we have pontification on green energy and ecomagination commercials. Jeff can keep his ecomagination and shove it where sodomists love to go.
By the way, let's not forget that in the 50s, 60s and 70s GE was one of the biggest environmental polluters around. For example, it had a huge facility in Pittsfield, MA that freely dumped PCBs and all manner of other toxins into the ecosystem. Then after it got all it could out of Pittsfield, having made that town utterly reliant on GE, it moved out, leaving the place economically and environmentally devastated. Now GE wants us to believe that it is environmentally friendly while it currently performs embryonic stem cell research with a firm in Britain (baby murdering), funds as charity social service organizations that provide abortion services (more baby murdering) and promotes the wickedness of same sex relationships as equality in marriage (sodomy). Instead of polluting the environment of the planet, GE now pollutes the environment of the soul. And this is all in line with Obama's State of the Union address. Free energy without resources (we call that ecomagination) and free sex without consequence (we call that diversity and tolerance) are both the hallmarks of Barack Hussein Obama and his lacky Jeff Immelt.
I confess that I neither watched nor read Obama's State of the Union address. Frankly, the man is an egotistical idiot. That alone disqualifies him as being THE antichrist. But with his promotion of baby murdering, sodomy and the rest of the immoral filth of this wicked generation, he is certainly AN antichrist in the tradition of 1st John 2:18-23.
As usual, Dr. Pournelle of the Chaos Manor web site has excellent commentary at the following web pages:
State of the Union
State of the Union: Education: Path to Nowhere
Green Energy and Ham
A few excerpts from Dr. Pournelle's analysis of Obama's green energy policy are in order:
Now if Green Energy meant a real campaign to build nuclear power plants -- even a Federal nuclear TVA rather than a reform of the red tape bureaucracy that prevents any actual construction -- we might be able to swallow the high speed rails as the Cold Warriors swallowed much of the Great Society as the price for being allowed to fight the USSR. That, however, doesn't seem to be the process. Green Energy will always end up meaning wind, bio, and solar, none of which are going to produce low cost energy to spark a new industrial revolution. So it goes...
...The end of this game is loss for the Republicans. Obama is hoping to rope in enough Republicans to give a national unity face to his plans for Green Energy and high speed trains; and Green Energy always means solar, bio, and wind, with perhaps a soupcon of tide, along with endless studies of nuclear. All told it will not produce enough energy to run a first world economy in your lifetime, but it will redistribute wealth, and not in any equalitarian way. The end result will be a new class structure, with enormously wealthy and powerful on top, civil servants in the middle, and everyone else much worse off. Equal, but not doing so well. Big central planning ventures always end that way.
It is interesting to note that now we are seeing an increase in all sorts of General Electric commercials on the television about its greatest, technological prowess and green energy "ecomagination" ideas. This is to be expected given the fact that Obama has rewarded GE CEO Jeff Immelt with an economic advisory position in his Administration for the fine service rendered by GE's MS NBC in promoting the godless liberal progressive agenda of utter wickedness. In the meantime, while GE promotes wind power, its initiatives to build "ecofriendly" Advanced and Economically Simplified Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR and ESBWR) in the United States are stalled in neutral. Twenty year investments that benefit the country are of no interest to Jeff Immelt whose concern lies with next calendar quarter's profit and how much political power he can obtain by ingratiating himself with that antichrist in the Whitehouse. Oh yes, GE is resubmitting its ABWR certification to the US NRC, only after Toshiba submitted its certification (what an embarrassment that is!).
No, folks, all of the following information is freely available in the public domain (e.g., US NRC, GE's public web site, news media releases, etc.) GE in the 1990s came up with this concept of an Advanced Boiling Water Reactor. Instead of having external Reactor Water Recirculating Pumps, then were put internal into the reactor vessel, obviating the need for jet pumps in the annular region and all the problems they cause. The US NRC certified the design, but none were built in the US. Instead, they were built in Japan and Taiwan. Toshiba helped with the building in Japan. Then as GE saw natural gas rise in ascendancy in the 90s, and lack of sufficient revenue from nuclear, it sold the rights to the ABWR design to Toshiba. No one ever thought that a few years later Toshiba would buy GE's competitor, Westinghouse, and nobody thought that a US nuclear utility would every have Toshiba and Westinghouse build a Boiling Water Reactor. Yet that's exactly what happened. The South Texas Project will be a GE ABWR built by GE's competitor. So when Toshiba and Westinghouse recently submitted the ABWR design for re-certification, that took GE by surprise caused much embarrassment. Thus, GE had to submit its own bid for recertification. In the meantime, GE is all so concerned with protecting its proprietary intellectual information.
While this is all going on, GE came up with a rehash of its old Simplified Boiling Water Reactor idea that it called "Economical" - hence ESBWR. The idea was reliance on natural circulation (obviating the need for forced Reactor Water Recirculation flow via pumps), and use of complete passive safety systems. It truly is an excellent idea and a great design. So some utilities signed up for it: Dominion, Entergy and Exelon. But when they requested GE to give them a fix price, GE couldn't asked them to pay to design the idea. That's like you or me going into the Toyota dealer and asking for a new car and him telling us we have to first pay him to design it. What horse manure! Of course the utilities backed out! Now ESBWR is stalled in neutral and going nowhere fast.
We can see from history that GE and more recently its current leader Jeff Immelt is just as clueless as that jerk in the Whitehouse. Thus, we have pontification on green energy and ecomagination commercials. Jeff can keep his ecomagination and shove it where sodomists love to go.
By the way, let's not forget that in the 50s, 60s and 70s GE was one of the biggest environmental polluters around. For example, it had a huge facility in Pittsfield, MA that freely dumped PCBs and all manner of other toxins into the ecosystem. Then after it got all it could out of Pittsfield, having made that town utterly reliant on GE, it moved out, leaving the place economically and environmentally devastated. Now GE wants us to believe that it is environmentally friendly while it currently performs embryonic stem cell research with a firm in Britain (baby murdering), funds as charity social service organizations that provide abortion services (more baby murdering) and promotes the wickedness of same sex relationships as equality in marriage (sodomy). Instead of polluting the environment of the planet, GE now pollutes the environment of the soul. And this is all in line with Obama's State of the Union address. Free energy without resources (we call that ecomagination) and free sex without consequence (we call that diversity and tolerance) are both the hallmarks of Barack Hussein Obama and his lacky Jeff Immelt.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Update - and Thoughts on Marriage and Casti Connubii
Folks,
I have moved into my new apartment at the other end of North Carolina. That was the reason for so few blog entries. I am still up to my eyeballs in unpacked boxes and all around general anarchy. So entries may be few and far between over the next several days until I can get my bearings and have my life restored to some semblance of normalcy. In the meantime, however, I hope everyone has been following Michael Voris' comments at Real Catholic TV on the relationship between abortion and contraception. Please left click your mouse cursor on the aforementioned hyperlinked text to view and listen to this week's videos. In one of them Mr. Voris referenced Pope Pius XI's Encyclical Casti Connubii which in Latin means "Of Chaste Wedlock." Now there's a subject reviled and derided by the atheist left. The beginning paragraph is quite noteworthy (well, actually, the entire document is noteworthy, so please read it):
How great is the dignity of chaste wedlock, Venerable Brethren, may be judged best from this that Christ Our Lord, Son of the Eternal Father, having assumed the nature of fallen man, not only, with His loving desire of compassing the redemption of our race, ordained it in an especial manner as the principle and foundation of domestic society and therefore of all human intercourse, but also raised it to the rank of a truly and great sacrament of the New Law, restored it to the original purity of its divine institution, and accordingly entrusted all its discipline and care to His spouse the Church.
Matthew 19:3-12 records how our Lord raised Holy Matrimony to the status of Sacrament. Just as the Pharisees 2000 years ago didn't like what our Lord had to say about marriage between one man and one woman who become one flesh, so also do today's liberals not like it, though they would say for different reasons, yet I think not. The rebellious of 2000 years ago wanted to slut around and call it marriage just as the rebellious of today want to do. Nevertheless, the answer remains the same today as it was back then: chastity, integrity, honor and virtue. We're NOT wild baboons (as most Democrats and sadly some Republicans behave). God expects us to use our intelligence and not give in to the lust of the moment (no matter how good it feels).
1st Corinthians 7 goes on further about the teachings on marriage that Pope Pius XI has expanded upon within his Encyclical. Indeed, several times in his epistles St. Paul compares union between man and wife with the union between Christ and His Bride, the Church. Moreover, our failure to live with fidelity and dignity in our earthly marriages is our failure to be fully a part of the Bride of Christ, and to be in union with Him. I speak as much for myself as anyone else, being divorced from a secular union into which I had entered during my phase of rebellion. I have been told that this sometimes happens with alcoholics who have a few decades in the Program; we acquire that false sense of "cured" and then God has to let life slap us silly aside the head in order to wake us up that there is only one thing we do on the "throne" - use your imagination to figure that out. That is precisely my case.
Additionally, what we rarely talk about are the consequences of rebellion, and the victims, preeminent among them being the children. Divorce is always wrong, though St. Paul allowed an unbelieving wife and a believing husband (or vice versa) to part were such the wish of the non-believer (which actually is my specific case).
I can only tell you, my gentle reader, the truth from my own personal experience: contraception and abortion will destroy your marriage sooner or later unless you both repent and get your hearts right with the Lord. Furthermore, if only one of you repents (as was my case), then be prepared to lose that marriage exactly as St. Paul indicates might happen in the chapter of the Epistle to the Corinthians referenced above. Jesus must come first and if He were first in the beginning, then all that Pope Pius XI explains in his Encyclical would be a "done deal" (as it were). Don't make the same mistakes that I have made. It's too painful and it makes the children victims.
Does God forgive a person for such mistakes? Yes, absolutely (that's why there's the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance). But sometimes there's temporal punishment that must be borne in the here and now. It isn't that God is doing the punishing. It's God allowing one to reap what one has sown. We do a far better job of punsihing ourselves.
I have moved into my new apartment at the other end of North Carolina. That was the reason for so few blog entries. I am still up to my eyeballs in unpacked boxes and all around general anarchy. So entries may be few and far between over the next several days until I can get my bearings and have my life restored to some semblance of normalcy. In the meantime, however, I hope everyone has been following Michael Voris' comments at Real Catholic TV on the relationship between abortion and contraception. Please left click your mouse cursor on the aforementioned hyperlinked text to view and listen to this week's videos. In one of them Mr. Voris referenced Pope Pius XI's Encyclical Casti Connubii which in Latin means "Of Chaste Wedlock." Now there's a subject reviled and derided by the atheist left. The beginning paragraph is quite noteworthy (well, actually, the entire document is noteworthy, so please read it):
How great is the dignity of chaste wedlock, Venerable Brethren, may be judged best from this that Christ Our Lord, Son of the Eternal Father, having assumed the nature of fallen man, not only, with His loving desire of compassing the redemption of our race, ordained it in an especial manner as the principle and foundation of domestic society and therefore of all human intercourse, but also raised it to the rank of a truly and great sacrament of the New Law, restored it to the original purity of its divine institution, and accordingly entrusted all its discipline and care to His spouse the Church.
Matthew 19:3-12 records how our Lord raised Holy Matrimony to the status of Sacrament. Just as the Pharisees 2000 years ago didn't like what our Lord had to say about marriage between one man and one woman who become one flesh, so also do today's liberals not like it, though they would say for different reasons, yet I think not. The rebellious of 2000 years ago wanted to slut around and call it marriage just as the rebellious of today want to do. Nevertheless, the answer remains the same today as it was back then: chastity, integrity, honor and virtue. We're NOT wild baboons (as most Democrats and sadly some Republicans behave). God expects us to use our intelligence and not give in to the lust of the moment (no matter how good it feels).
1st Corinthians 7 goes on further about the teachings on marriage that Pope Pius XI has expanded upon within his Encyclical. Indeed, several times in his epistles St. Paul compares union between man and wife with the union between Christ and His Bride, the Church. Moreover, our failure to live with fidelity and dignity in our earthly marriages is our failure to be fully a part of the Bride of Christ, and to be in union with Him. I speak as much for myself as anyone else, being divorced from a secular union into which I had entered during my phase of rebellion. I have been told that this sometimes happens with alcoholics who have a few decades in the Program; we acquire that false sense of "cured" and then God has to let life slap us silly aside the head in order to wake us up that there is only one thing we do on the "throne" - use your imagination to figure that out. That is precisely my case.
Additionally, what we rarely talk about are the consequences of rebellion, and the victims, preeminent among them being the children. Divorce is always wrong, though St. Paul allowed an unbelieving wife and a believing husband (or vice versa) to part were such the wish of the non-believer (which actually is my specific case).
I can only tell you, my gentle reader, the truth from my own personal experience: contraception and abortion will destroy your marriage sooner or later unless you both repent and get your hearts right with the Lord. Furthermore, if only one of you repents (as was my case), then be prepared to lose that marriage exactly as St. Paul indicates might happen in the chapter of the Epistle to the Corinthians referenced above. Jesus must come first and if He were first in the beginning, then all that Pope Pius XI explains in his Encyclical would be a "done deal" (as it were). Don't make the same mistakes that I have made. It's too painful and it makes the children victims.
Does God forgive a person for such mistakes? Yes, absolutely (that's why there's the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance). But sometimes there's temporal punishment that must be borne in the here and now. It isn't that God is doing the punishing. It's God allowing one to reap what one has sown. We do a far better job of punsihing ourselves.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Visit to the Billy Graham Library
Yesterday I visited the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC. I was favorably impressed (as I always am) at the legacy of Dr. Graham. Unlike most of his Protestant evangelist couterparts, he always seemed sincere and his message was always the Cross, never money. In fact, on several occasions Dr. Graham met with Pope John Paul II, and the dialogue between the two men was always mutually respectful:
Billy Graham: Pope John Paul II Was "Most Influential Voice" in 100 Years
I was disappointed, however, that while there were exhibits of Billy Graham meeting the Patriach of the Russian Orthodox Church, members of the Lutheran churches, various world leaders and so forth, there was no exhibit of his meeting with the Pope. I provided that feedback on my questionaire card and verbally to the staff as I left the museum at day's end. Given that Billy Graham said the following on the death of John Paul II, surely this will be rectified:
Statement by Evangelist Billy Graham on Pope John Paul II
However, the impression I got was that while the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is remarkably agnostic towards denomination (after all, its singular focus is the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ), its theology seems quite Presbyterian and Baptist (a definite Calvinist element and lots of books by Spurgeon in the bookstore). Typically many in those denominations have a marked aversion towards Catholicism and the Pope (Sprull, Spurgeon's effective successor in America, certainly does). Indeed, there is a lot of negative evangelical commentary on the internet about Billy Graham's meeting with the Pope. This is quite undeserved, for after all, the Bible (minus seven books) that Protestants use comes from Holy Mother Church.
I was, however, gratified that while there were photographs of Billy Graham meeting with every president since Truman, and while there was a special exhibit dedicated to his meetings with former President Bush, there were NO photographs of Obama. That was a relief and of course, is explained by the fact that Obama is his own god.
Overall, I heartily recommend a tour of the museum. We will disagree with our evangelical Baptist and Presbyterian brothers and sisters over theological matters, but we can surely agree on the primacy of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. These people are NOT like the lukewarm liberals in the Episcopal apostasy of Bishopress Schori, or similar denominations that openly support abortion and gay marriage. Among Protestants the Evangelicals and Pentecostals can be our greatest friends and closest allies in fighting against the current onslaught of immorality and idolatry. I am NOT suggesting for one minute anything other than what Holy Mother Church teaches, nor am I suggesting that salvation may be found outside the Church. But maybe we should all re-read exactly what Dominus Iesus states, and maybe we should remember that if we as Catholics in America don't carry the banner of Christ forward, then He can raise up sons to Abraham from the stones themselves while we find ourselves cast out of the Kingdom (Matthew 3:7-12).
Like it or not, Billy Graham was and is a great man of God, his Protestantism notwithstanding. He wasn't and isn't perfect. Nor are we. But God has used him to spread the Gospel (however much we Catholics disagree with his theology), and that is without question.
Pope Benedict XVI on Morality to Rome's Police
Folks,
Our Holy Father gave an address to Rome's police force on January 21st of this year:
Benedict XVI's Address to Rome's Police
A few excerpts are noteworthy:
These changes at times generate a sense of insecurity, due in the first place to the social and economic precariousness, made acute also by a certain weakening of the perception of ethical principles on which the law and personal moral attitudes are founded, which always give strength to those regulations.
Our world, with all its new hopes and possibilities, is suffused at the same time by the impression that moral consent is failing and that, as a consequence, the structures at the base of coexistence no longer succeed in functioning fully.
....here we find a grave risk, because developed in modern thought is a reductive vision of conscience, according to which there are no objective references in determining what is worthwhile and what is true, but it is the single individual, with his intuitions and experiences, who is the meter of measure; each one, hence, has his own truth, his own morality. The most evident consequence is that religion and morality tend to be confined in the ambit of the individual, of the private: that is, faith with its values and conduct is no longer to have a right and a place in public and civil life. Therefore, if on one hand great importance is given in society to pluralism and tolerance, on the other, religion tends to be progressively marginalized and considered irrelevant and, in a certain sense, foreign to the civil world, almost as if it should limit its influence on man's life.
The new challenges which appear on the horizon exact that God and man again encounter one another, that society and public institutions find their "soul" again, their spiritual and moral roots, to give a new consistency to ethical and juridical values of reference and, hence, to practical action. The Christian faith and the Church do not cease to offer their own contribution to the promotion of the common good and of a genuinely human progress.
Our Holy Father gave an address to Rome's police force on January 21st of this year:
Benedict XVI's Address to Rome's Police
A few excerpts are noteworthy:
These changes at times generate a sense of insecurity, due in the first place to the social and economic precariousness, made acute also by a certain weakening of the perception of ethical principles on which the law and personal moral attitudes are founded, which always give strength to those regulations.
Our world, with all its new hopes and possibilities, is suffused at the same time by the impression that moral consent is failing and that, as a consequence, the structures at the base of coexistence no longer succeed in functioning fully.
....here we find a grave risk, because developed in modern thought is a reductive vision of conscience, according to which there are no objective references in determining what is worthwhile and what is true, but it is the single individual, with his intuitions and experiences, who is the meter of measure; each one, hence, has his own truth, his own morality. The most evident consequence is that religion and morality tend to be confined in the ambit of the individual, of the private: that is, faith with its values and conduct is no longer to have a right and a place in public and civil life. Therefore, if on one hand great importance is given in society to pluralism and tolerance, on the other, religion tends to be progressively marginalized and considered irrelevant and, in a certain sense, foreign to the civil world, almost as if it should limit its influence on man's life.
The new challenges which appear on the horizon exact that God and man again encounter one another, that society and public institutions find their "soul" again, their spiritual and moral roots, to give a new consistency to ethical and juridical values of reference and, hence, to practical action. The Christian faith and the Church do not cease to offer their own contribution to the promotion of the common good and of a genuinely human progress.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
You Shall Know That I Am The Lord - C.S. Lewis
Folks,
The following is an excerpt from "Miracles" by C.S. Lewis and rebuts the accusation that the God of Christianity is a "sky god." Those who make such an accusation have failed to exercise even the remotest level of objective investigation that they claim is the hallmark of their devotion to scientism and rationalism.
The Christians are not claiming that simply "God" was incarnate in Jesus. They are claiming that the one true God is He whom the Jews worshipped as Yahweh, and that it is He who has descended. Now the double character of Yahweh is this. On the one hand He is the God of Nature, her glad Creator. it is He who sends the rain into the furrows till the valleys stand so thick with corn that they laugh and sing. The trees of the wood rejoice before Him and His voice causes the wild deer to bring forth their young. He is the God of wheat and wine and oil. In that respect He is constantly doing all the things that nature-Gods do: He is Bacchus, Venus, Ceres all rolled into one...
On the other hand, Yahweh is clearly NOT a Nature-God. He does not die and come to life each year as a true Corn-king should. He may give wine and fertility, but must not be worshipped with Bacchanalian or aphrodisiac rites. He is not the soul of Nature not any part of Nature. He inhabits eternity: He dwells in the high and holy place: heaven is his throne, not His vehicle, earth is His footstool, not His vesture. One day He will dismantle both and make a new heaven and earth. He is not to be identified even with the "divine spark" in man. He is "God and not man": His thoughts are not our thoughts: all our righteousness is filthy rags. His appearance to Ezekiel is attended with imagery that does not borrow from Nature, but (it is a mystery too seldom noticed) from those machines which men were to make centuries after Ezekiel's death. The prophet saw something suspiciously like a dynamo.
Yahweh is neither the soul of nature nor her enemy. She is neither His body nor a declension and falling away from Him. She is His creature. He is not a nature-God, but God of nature - her inventor, maker, owner, and controller. To everyone who reads this book the conception has been familiar from childhood: we therefore easily think it is the most ordinary conception in the world. "If people are going to believe in God at all," we ask, "what other kind would they believe in?" But the answer of history is, "almost any other kind." We mistake our privileges for our instincts: just as one meets ladies who believe their own refined manners to be natural to them. They don't remember being taught.
In the case of today's pseudo-scientific, pseudo-logical atheists, they never have been taught, so to them God is merely some sort of sky-God. They cannot conceive that the eternal I AM is outside of space and time, energy and matter, and that He created all that we see, feel and experience. They cannot conceive how He became Man to suffer and die in our stead, and has risen from the dead, never to die again. They cannot conceive that whereas the gods of all other religions eat their worshippers, our God gave Himself to us to eat, not as dead putrefying flesh, but as the living spirit-filled Word. As John 6:53-58 explains:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."
To atheists, all that exists is who and what there are. They have no spiritual food. How impoverished are these most intellectually destitute of creatures, chain and enslaved by fragile egos that cannot withstand the introspection of honesty. Their only god is the "I, Self and Me" - the ISM letters in which atheism ends as a word. What they eat and drink is themselves, and thus do they self-immolate.
Indeed, without Jesus there is nothing, and thus do they by self-will run riot choose nothing. Let us pray for their conversion, for unless the Lord softens their hardened hearts, their fate is doomed by such selfish. And let us not become arrogant in some sort of misguided sense of religious superiority, for it is only by God's grace that the same does not happen to us. The number of unrepentant atheists destined for hell is surely exceeded by a far greater number of unrepentant religious hypocrites who thought they had a lock on salvation. There are more Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who know better than God-deniers who don't. The latter deny God perhaps because of what they do not know whereas the former, having once known God (or at least they claimed they knew God), deny His power and authority. Yes, Romans 1:19-20 states:
"For what can be known about God is evident to them (i.e., the God-deniers), because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse..."
However, Hebrews 6:4-6 makes clear a far greater culpability on the part of those who knew and fell away:
"For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift and shared in the holy Spirit and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to bring them to repentance again, since they are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves and holding him up to contempt."
The following is an excerpt from "Miracles" by C.S. Lewis and rebuts the accusation that the God of Christianity is a "sky god." Those who make such an accusation have failed to exercise even the remotest level of objective investigation that they claim is the hallmark of their devotion to scientism and rationalism.
The Christians are not claiming that simply "God" was incarnate in Jesus. They are claiming that the one true God is He whom the Jews worshipped as Yahweh, and that it is He who has descended. Now the double character of Yahweh is this. On the one hand He is the God of Nature, her glad Creator. it is He who sends the rain into the furrows till the valleys stand so thick with corn that they laugh and sing. The trees of the wood rejoice before Him and His voice causes the wild deer to bring forth their young. He is the God of wheat and wine and oil. In that respect He is constantly doing all the things that nature-Gods do: He is Bacchus, Venus, Ceres all rolled into one...
On the other hand, Yahweh is clearly NOT a Nature-God. He does not die and come to life each year as a true Corn-king should. He may give wine and fertility, but must not be worshipped with Bacchanalian or aphrodisiac rites. He is not the soul of Nature not any part of Nature. He inhabits eternity: He dwells in the high and holy place: heaven is his throne, not His vehicle, earth is His footstool, not His vesture. One day He will dismantle both and make a new heaven and earth. He is not to be identified even with the "divine spark" in man. He is "God and not man": His thoughts are not our thoughts: all our righteousness is filthy rags. His appearance to Ezekiel is attended with imagery that does not borrow from Nature, but (it is a mystery too seldom noticed) from those machines which men were to make centuries after Ezekiel's death. The prophet saw something suspiciously like a dynamo.
Yahweh is neither the soul of nature nor her enemy. She is neither His body nor a declension and falling away from Him. She is His creature. He is not a nature-God, but God of nature - her inventor, maker, owner, and controller. To everyone who reads this book the conception has been familiar from childhood: we therefore easily think it is the most ordinary conception in the world. "If people are going to believe in God at all," we ask, "what other kind would they believe in?" But the answer of history is, "almost any other kind." We mistake our privileges for our instincts: just as one meets ladies who believe their own refined manners to be natural to them. They don't remember being taught.
In the case of today's pseudo-scientific, pseudo-logical atheists, they never have been taught, so to them God is merely some sort of sky-God. They cannot conceive that the eternal I AM is outside of space and time, energy and matter, and that He created all that we see, feel and experience. They cannot conceive how He became Man to suffer and die in our stead, and has risen from the dead, never to die again. They cannot conceive that whereas the gods of all other religions eat their worshippers, our God gave Himself to us to eat, not as dead putrefying flesh, but as the living spirit-filled Word. As John 6:53-58 explains:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."
To atheists, all that exists is who and what there are. They have no spiritual food. How impoverished are these most intellectually destitute of creatures, chain and enslaved by fragile egos that cannot withstand the introspection of honesty. Their only god is the "I, Self and Me" - the ISM letters in which atheism ends as a word. What they eat and drink is themselves, and thus do they self-immolate.
Indeed, without Jesus there is nothing, and thus do they by self-will run riot choose nothing. Let us pray for their conversion, for unless the Lord softens their hardened hearts, their fate is doomed by such selfish. And let us not become arrogant in some sort of misguided sense of religious superiority, for it is only by God's grace that the same does not happen to us. The number of unrepentant atheists destined for hell is surely exceeded by a far greater number of unrepentant religious hypocrites who thought they had a lock on salvation. There are more Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees who know better than God-deniers who don't. The latter deny God perhaps because of what they do not know whereas the former, having once known God (or at least they claimed they knew God), deny His power and authority. Yes, Romans 1:19-20 states:
"For what can be known about God is evident to them (i.e., the God-deniers), because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse..."
However, Hebrews 6:4-6 makes clear a far greater culpability on the part of those who knew and fell away:
"For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift and shared in the holy Spirit and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to bring them to repentance again, since they are recrucifying the Son of God for themselves and holding him up to contempt."
The Bishops Are To Blame
Folks,
Michael Voris latest video, "The Bishops Are To Blame," is recommended for your attention. Again, Ezekiel 34:1-10 comes to mind.
Michael Voris latest video, "The Bishops Are To Blame," is recommended for your attention. Again, Ezekiel 34:1-10 comes to mind.
A Note on Moderation
Folks,
I apologize that once again I have had to disable commenting at Commentarius de Prognosticis. Those who wish comments to be posted should e-mail me or use my Facebook page. However, a godlessly wickedly liberal leftist pervert and deviant who styles itself as "Salvage" has a sociopathic interest in deriding, villifying and castigating anything Christian and that will NOT be tolerated. One must wonder as to the mental stability of such persons.
I suspect that this person is in the employ of a company for which I had once worked. I may be wrong, but if this is the case, then that such a person would be so hired speaks loudly and clearly to the godlessly liberal policies of that company and its CEO. Indeed, the psychological derangement of all such persons is certainly akin to that of Jared Loughner who attempted to murder one of his own, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and succeeded in murdering a Judge and a nine year old girl. So to prevent the fertilization and growth of more such derangement, commenting is disabled at least temporarily until that sick person slinks back into the snake hole of satanic abyss from which it came.
The rules here are simple: no leftism, no liberalism, no progressivism, no humanism, no atheism. Those who support such wickedness are free to create their own blogsites from which to disseminate their putrid vile refuse that already comes as effluent of rotting odiferous sewage from ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, NPR and PBS. But there is no voice for such demonic creatures of malevolence and perniciousness here at Commentarius de Prognosticis. One cannot and must not have dialogue with the Devil or his minions. As verse nine in the Epistle of Jude explains:
Yet the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him but said, "May the Lord rebuke you!"
I apologize that once again I have had to disable commenting at Commentarius de Prognosticis. Those who wish comments to be posted should e-mail me or use my Facebook page. However, a godlessly wickedly liberal leftist pervert and deviant who styles itself as "Salvage" has a sociopathic interest in deriding, villifying and castigating anything Christian and that will NOT be tolerated. One must wonder as to the mental stability of such persons.
I suspect that this person is in the employ of a company for which I had once worked. I may be wrong, but if this is the case, then that such a person would be so hired speaks loudly and clearly to the godlessly liberal policies of that company and its CEO. Indeed, the psychological derangement of all such persons is certainly akin to that of Jared Loughner who attempted to murder one of his own, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and succeeded in murdering a Judge and a nine year old girl. So to prevent the fertilization and growth of more such derangement, commenting is disabled at least temporarily until that sick person slinks back into the snake hole of satanic abyss from which it came.
The rules here are simple: no leftism, no liberalism, no progressivism, no humanism, no atheism. Those who support such wickedness are free to create their own blogsites from which to disseminate their putrid vile refuse that already comes as effluent of rotting odiferous sewage from ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, NPR and PBS. But there is no voice for such demonic creatures of malevolence and perniciousness here at Commentarius de Prognosticis. One cannot and must not have dialogue with the Devil or his minions. As verse nine in the Epistle of Jude explains:
Yet the archangel Michael, when he argued with the devil in a dispute over the body of Moses, did not venture to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him but said, "May the Lord rebuke you!"
Friday, January 21, 2011
Jeff Immelt - GE CEO - Liberal, Progressive Democrat
Folks,
Fox and other news outlets are reporting today that the CEO and President of General Electric has been appointed as the lead for Obama's new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.
Obama Brings Good Things to Light at G.E.
I can only imagine that that is some sort of award given for GE's NBC and MS NBC having worked tooth and nail to get the most evil reprobate yet elected into the Oval Office.
Under Immelt, GE itself has entered into a contract with a British firm to support embryonic stem cell research. That's doing what the Nazis did: experimenting on unborn babies till they die. GE has worked with the pseudo-Catholic, pro-abortion Secretary Sebelius for Obama's Department of Health and Human Services to donate considerable sums of money to social service groups that either directly provide or refer to others who provide abortion services. That's open and unabashed baby murdering. GE itself internally has support groups for sodomizers and lesbians to comfort and confirm them in their sexual wickedness while extolling their deviancy as equivalent to marriage. As Fox News reports, "Immelt has been an Obama stalwart all along. Immelt has also consistently argued to shareholders that there is big money to be made in advancing the Democratic agenda." There certainly is big money to be had. A lot of money was had in the murder 50 million babies since Roe v Wade, and from all appearances, under Immelt, GE Health Care is willing to step up to the plate (by the way, he was that division's former President before he took over for Jack Welch).
Internet research seems to indicate that Immelt is Presbyterian and not Catholic. That is perhaps the ONLY redeeming thing about this - he's the Presbyterians' problem. We have our with Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Andy Cuomo and their like.
Obama Brings Good Things to Light at G.E.
I can only imagine that that is some sort of award given for GE's NBC and MS NBC having worked tooth and nail to get the most evil reprobate yet elected into the Oval Office.
Under Immelt, GE itself has entered into a contract with a British firm to support embryonic stem cell research. That's doing what the Nazis did: experimenting on unborn babies till they die. GE has worked with the pseudo-Catholic, pro-abortion Secretary Sebelius for Obama's Department of Health and Human Services to donate considerable sums of money to social service groups that either directly provide or refer to others who provide abortion services. That's open and unabashed baby murdering. GE itself internally has support groups for sodomizers and lesbians to comfort and confirm them in their sexual wickedness while extolling their deviancy as equivalent to marriage. As Fox News reports, "Immelt has been an Obama stalwart all along. Immelt has also consistently argued to shareholders that there is big money to be made in advancing the Democratic agenda." There certainly is big money to be had. A lot of money was had in the murder 50 million babies since Roe v Wade, and from all appearances, under Immelt, GE Health Care is willing to step up to the plate (by the way, he was that division's former President before he took over for Jack Welch).
Internet research seems to indicate that Immelt is Presbyterian and not Catholic. That is perhaps the ONLY redeeming thing about this - he's the Presbyterians' problem. We have our with Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Andy Cuomo and their like.
Liberals Are Co-Dependents
Folks,
Please take the 49 minutes or so to listen to Father Phil's talk about liberals, conservatives and Catholic social vision.
Phil's Talk - Catholic Social Vision
He is absolutely correct when he describes liberals as co-dependents whose fragile egos depend on being rescuers for the less fortunate because that's the only way they can feel good about themselves. By this standard, Obama is the ultimate co-dependent, the ultimate egomaniac, and every liberal follows him to the degree of his adherence to the liberal cause. Indeed, as Father states, the liberal view is built on the fallacy that "I know better than you what's good for you." That is the hubris that resulted in Lucifer having been cast out of Heaven.
Thanks go to Jim McCrea for pointing out this talk.
Please take the 49 minutes or so to listen to Father Phil's talk about liberals, conservatives and Catholic social vision.
Phil's Talk - Catholic Social Vision
He is absolutely correct when he describes liberals as co-dependents whose fragile egos depend on being rescuers for the less fortunate because that's the only way they can feel good about themselves. By this standard, Obama is the ultimate co-dependent, the ultimate egomaniac, and every liberal follows him to the degree of his adherence to the liberal cause. Indeed, as Father states, the liberal view is built on the fallacy that "I know better than you what's good for you." That is the hubris that resulted in Lucifer having been cast out of Heaven.
Thanks go to Jim McCrea for pointing out this talk.
The Rupture
Folks,
Yesterday's Vortex episode from Real Catholic TV is another noteworthy one:
The Rupture
Recommended reading also include Bishop Athanasius Schneider's December speech urging the Pope to intervene and correct the modernists who are perverting the documents of Vatican II with demonic effect. Indeed, the Bishop quotes the following from paragraph 42 in Gaudium et Spes:
"Christ, to be sure, gave His Church no proper mission in the political, economic or social order. The purpose which He set before her is a religious one."
Indeed, it is utter arrogance to think that we can and should establish God's Kingdom on Earth by political, economic or social order means. That being said, I concur whole-heartedly with Catawissa Gazetteer's entry yesterday entitled, "Is Social Justice a Dirty Phrase?" He makes it clear that neither Marxism and Statism nor Capitalism and market forces can possibly establish God's Kingdom. Marxism (and its cousin Socialism) leads to an omnipotent State which eventually enslaves man. Capitalism left unchecked inevitably leads to the sale of human flesh in the market place. There is only one way to God's Kingdom. John 14:5-7 explains this quite succinctly:
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
As has been repeatedly pointed out here, we serve in the best interests of the political, economic and social order when we as individual Christians take up our responsibility to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, care for the sick, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless and welcome the alien (Matthew 25:31-46). Everytime we abdicate our responsibility and evade our accountability as stewards of God's creation and as children in His Kingdom, on the one hand we elect politicians to produce a nanny government that in turn enslaves us to Caesar (the logical outcome of left's point of view), or we enable the growth of an unlimited market that would sell human flesh at any price (the logical outcome of the right's point of view). The Church's responsibility is to save souls, and we are members thereof. Let our light then shine by our good works. If we do that, then we obviate the need for either an unlimited nanny government or an unlimited laize faire market place. The Church has NO mission in the political, economic or social order. As paragraph 42 in Gaudium et Spes goes on to say:
But out of this religious mission itself come a function, a light and an energy which can serve to structure and consolidate the human community according to the divine law. As a matter of fact, when circumstances of time and place produce the need, she can and indeed should initiate activities on behalf of all men, especially those designed for the needy, such as the works of mercy and similar undertakings.
That's not government's job. That's not the free market's job. That's our job as citizens of the Kingdom. Are we to be sheep or goats? We all know what happens to each at on Judgment Day.
Yesterday's Vortex episode from Real Catholic TV is another noteworthy one:
The Rupture
Recommended reading also include Bishop Athanasius Schneider's December speech urging the Pope to intervene and correct the modernists who are perverting the documents of Vatican II with demonic effect. Indeed, the Bishop quotes the following from paragraph 42 in Gaudium et Spes:
"Christ, to be sure, gave His Church no proper mission in the political, economic or social order. The purpose which He set before her is a religious one."
Indeed, it is utter arrogance to think that we can and should establish God's Kingdom on Earth by political, economic or social order means. That being said, I concur whole-heartedly with Catawissa Gazetteer's entry yesterday entitled, "Is Social Justice a Dirty Phrase?" He makes it clear that neither Marxism and Statism nor Capitalism and market forces can possibly establish God's Kingdom. Marxism (and its cousin Socialism) leads to an omnipotent State which eventually enslaves man. Capitalism left unchecked inevitably leads to the sale of human flesh in the market place. There is only one way to God's Kingdom. John 14:5-7 explains this quite succinctly:
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
As has been repeatedly pointed out here, we serve in the best interests of the political, economic and social order when we as individual Christians take up our responsibility to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, care for the sick, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless and welcome the alien (Matthew 25:31-46). Everytime we abdicate our responsibility and evade our accountability as stewards of God's creation and as children in His Kingdom, on the one hand we elect politicians to produce a nanny government that in turn enslaves us to Caesar (the logical outcome of left's point of view), or we enable the growth of an unlimited market that would sell human flesh at any price (the logical outcome of the right's point of view). The Church's responsibility is to save souls, and we are members thereof. Let our light then shine by our good works. If we do that, then we obviate the need for either an unlimited nanny government or an unlimited laize faire market place. The Church has NO mission in the political, economic or social order. As paragraph 42 in Gaudium et Spes goes on to say:
But out of this religious mission itself come a function, a light and an energy which can serve to structure and consolidate the human community according to the divine law. As a matter of fact, when circumstances of time and place produce the need, she can and indeed should initiate activities on behalf of all men, especially those designed for the needy, such as the works of mercy and similar undertakings.
That's not government's job. That's not the free market's job. That's our job as citizens of the Kingdom. Are we to be sheep or goats? We all know what happens to each at on Judgment Day.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
When Atheists Are Angry at God
Folks,
Joe Carter at the Catholic Education Resource Center has written a truly great essay entitled, "When Atheists Are Angry at God." Please left click your mouse cursor on the aforementioned hyperlinked text to read this piece.
Atheists being angry at God may sound oxymoronic to the ear, but when analyzed, it becomes apparent that those who profess disbelief in the existence of God invariably do so from some quite emotional motivations. Either such people got something in the course of life that they didn't want and think is unfair, or they did not get something in the course of life that they think they deserve and thus consider that unfair. The proferring of pseudo-scientific arguments against the existence of God is thus a sham. As St. Paul declares in Romans 1:19-20, "For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse..."
Atheism is every bit a religion as any other religion. However, in atheism's case, the adherent doesn't worship some external god, but rather himself as God. Yet it is the same crime that Satan committed before having been cast out of Heaven: "Non serviam" or "I will NOT serve." Well, either one serves God, or one serves one's lustful, murderous passion. But in the end, we all serve.
Joe Carter at the Catholic Education Resource Center has written a truly great essay entitled, "When Atheists Are Angry at God." Please left click your mouse cursor on the aforementioned hyperlinked text to read this piece.
Atheists being angry at God may sound oxymoronic to the ear, but when analyzed, it becomes apparent that those who profess disbelief in the existence of God invariably do so from some quite emotional motivations. Either such people got something in the course of life that they didn't want and think is unfair, or they did not get something in the course of life that they think they deserve and thus consider that unfair. The proferring of pseudo-scientific arguments against the existence of God is thus a sham. As St. Paul declares in Romans 1:19-20, "For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse..."
Atheism is every bit a religion as any other religion. However, in atheism's case, the adherent doesn't worship some external god, but rather himself as God. Yet it is the same crime that Satan committed before having been cast out of Heaven: "Non serviam" or "I will NOT serve." Well, either one serves God, or one serves one's lustful, murderous passion. But in the end, we all serve.
Correcting Post-Vatican II Abuses
Folks,
Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV produced a video yesterday entitled, "Making Things Right." It is concerned with Bishop Athanasius Schneider's appeal in December, 2010 to Pope Benedict XVI to issue a formal statement condemning the errors that have arisen from the misinterpretation and misapplication of the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Church - Vatican II - since its founding some two thousand years ago. Everything Mr. Voris states is correct, including his pointing out that it is NOT the documents of Vatican II that are in error, but the hijacking of post-Vatican II "reforms" by the left wing liberal activists that has poisoned the Body of Christ. Please left click your mouse cursor on the aforementioned hyperlinked text for further links to these documents. One wonders if our Marxist detractors enamored with the false gospel of social justice and peace at any price, and pretending religious motivation have actually even read these documents. Indeed, it is now time to purge the Body of Christ of the poison that is liberalism and progressivism. If that means that the liberals leave and go to Bishopress Schori's pantheon of sodomizing, abortionist fruitcakes and nuts in the ECUSA, then so much the better. Perhaps that's where they belong.
Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV produced a video yesterday entitled, "Making Things Right." It is concerned with Bishop Athanasius Schneider's appeal in December, 2010 to Pope Benedict XVI to issue a formal statement condemning the errors that have arisen from the misinterpretation and misapplication of the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Church - Vatican II - since its founding some two thousand years ago. Everything Mr. Voris states is correct, including his pointing out that it is NOT the documents of Vatican II that are in error, but the hijacking of post-Vatican II "reforms" by the left wing liberal activists that has poisoned the Body of Christ. Please left click your mouse cursor on the aforementioned hyperlinked text for further links to these documents. One wonders if our Marxist detractors enamored with the false gospel of social justice and peace at any price, and pretending religious motivation have actually even read these documents. Indeed, it is now time to purge the Body of Christ of the poison that is liberalism and progressivism. If that means that the liberals leave and go to Bishopress Schori's pantheon of sodomizing, abortionist fruitcakes and nuts in the ECUSA, then so much the better. Perhaps that's where they belong.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Pope John Paul II and the Radiation of the Supernatural by Jim McCrea
Pope John Paul II and the Radiation of the Supernatural
By Jim J. McCrea
First Published in 2002 - Republished in Honor of the Announcement of His Beatification.
Part I
Wherever Pope John Paul II travels in the world, he often attracts hundreds of thousands of people to hear and see him. I believe that there is more to this attraction than his status as Vicar of Christ for the faithful on earth. For the World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002, I watched the Pope get off the plane, walk over, and then make his first speech for that event. I then saw him on television again, presiding at the Mass at Downsview airport which was the concluding event of WYD.
My reaction upon seeing him on television was a tremendous sense of spiritual joy. This was from what I believe is the presence of God shining through him. In His inner eternal life, God is infinite purity, goodness, peace, order, happiness, and joy. God created man precisely to share in His infinitely blessed life of absolute happiness for all eternity. In other words, we were created to be united to the Real.
Those who live an intense supernatural interior life, fed by prayer, meditation, contemplation, mortification, and the sacraments, exist in intimate contact with the Ultimate Reality who is God, and so to speak, form a window through which others can see this Ultimate Reality. God lives in such people so profoundly that the light of the supernatural radiates through their being and overflows onto others in a way that can be perceived and which has a tremendous influence.
Not only in seeing Pope John Paul II on television, but also viewing still pictures of him brings one great spiritual joy and comfort. Even in still images, something of the almighty fatherly care of God can be seen in the Holy Father which cuts oppressive evils down to size. Many others have similar reactions, particularly when seeing him in person. In the Pope's presence, grown men burst into tears, and otherwise, people sense a tremendous spiritual electricity. Despite his frail physical appearance, he is so attractive a human being and has such an effect upon others, because something of the infinite joy of God shines through him. His mere bodily appearance generates a spiritual consolation. In his preaching and works, John Paul II is fruitful in producing goodness upon the earth and illuminating it with the Truth, precisely because he lives in such intimate union with God. This, no doubt, comes from the Pope's intense prayer life. It is reported that he prays up to seven hours per day, and spends two hours per day before the Blessed Sacrament.
Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard in his book, "The Soul of the Apostolate" discusses the necessity of the interior supernatural life of God dwelling in the soul (by the power of the Holy Spirit) if one is to be a fruitful worker for God in this life. Modernists do not see the supernatural, rather they come to exclusively value empirically visible tangible reality. In many cases, God for them is little but the visible goodness that can be seen in physically observable good works.
Thus, for them, social justice and the visible community (while very good in themselves, derived from the Gospels) is the be-all and end-all of the Faith, ignoring supernatural elements such as the Mass as Sacrifice, Eucharistic Adoration, interior prayer, personal virtue, sexual purity, mortification, the Cross, judgment, heaven, and hell. The Faith is thus reduced to naturalistic humanitarian social service. Social justice becomes a substitute for orthodoxy, rather than an expression of it conducted in the light of supernatural realities - true social justice, which is based upon justice to persons which is founded upon the right to life from the moment of conception to natural death because each person is made in the image of God. The horizontal empirical needs of one's neighbor are given exclusive focus, while forgetting that the glorification of God and the eternal salvation of the soul are primary (some modernists focus exclusively on reforming structures, forgetting that good structures will not work if the people within them lack holiness and morality. The priest who makes himself readily available to hear confessions is facilitating peace and justice in society perhaps more than anything else. This is forgotten when sin is seen in structures rather than in individuals. Priests should preach on sin and its consequences).
Of course it is an essential part of the mission of the Church to help the poor, the widowed, and the orphaned. But as Chautard explains in his book, one must be first filled with the presence of God through generous sacrificial prayer to be effective at all in Christ's vineyard. Only prayer can give this to a person. It is impossible to acquire by one's own efforts. As Christ said: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who lives in Me and I in him, will produce abundantly, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Those who give themselves to "good works" without God's inner life animating them, are less useful from God's point of view. Despite apparent success and the acclaim of others of "how much good they are doing", it is possible they could be doing harm in the long run.
This is perhaps because they are operating from natural enthusiasm, a natural desire for results which makes them feel good, and from a hunger for the applause of others, rather than from motives of supernatural charity. They may be doing harm rather than good precisely because they are not working in accordance with the will of God. They are communicating the contagion of their own vanity, rather than the supernatural unction of Christ. Mother Teresa was a true model of helping the destitute because she put God's truth and the supernatural first. Her Missionaries of Charity flourish the way they do, in a large part, because they spend at least one hour in Eucharistic Adoration each day.
As with John Paul II, others have been noted to be effective in doing good to others, simply through the supernatural which they radiate, even if it seems they are not doing much from the natural tangible point of view. Contemplation, or a profound supernatural union with God, is not only necessary for action, but is an end in itself and has an efficacy all of its own. I quote from The Soul of the Apostolate:
"The professor who has no interior life imagines he has done all that is required of him if he keeps within the limits of the program of his examination. But if he is a man of prayer, some word will now and again slip out, not only from his lips but from his heart: some sentiment or other will show itself in his expression, some significant gesture will escape him. Yes, the mere way he makes the sign of the Cross or says a prayer before or after class - even a class in mathematics! - may have a more profound influence on his students than a whole sermon." (p. 116)
"St. John Vianney had a voice so weak that it could not reach most of the crowd that surged around him. But if people could hardly hear him, they saw him; they saw a living monstrance of God, and the mere sight of him overwhelmed those who were there, and converted them. A lawyer had just returned from Ars. Someone asked him what it was that impressed him. He said: "I have seen God in a man." (p. 121)
Those who have a profound interior life, like Pope John Paul II, move closer towards their goal which is the face-to-face vision of God in heaven. Not only this, they are very powerful in assisting in the salvation of others. We are on a journey in this life, and the goal for each of us is eternal heaven. What is often forgotten by many Catholics is the fact that the most important activity in our lives, with respect to ourselves and others, is the saving of our soul and helping others to save theirs.
Heaven is not a sure thing for us in this life (unless one has been confirmed in grace), but eternal hell is a possibility if we misuse our free will. We must always be vigilant, not only for ourselves, but for our neighbor as well. Often topics such as bettering the world or what our faith can do for us in this life are stressed in homilies at Mass, but as important as these are, they are secondary. This life lasts only for a time. Heaven and hell last forever; they contain vastly greater good and evil respectively than anything possible on this earth. What is at stake for each of us is infinite.
Part II
There is a common misconception that advanced mystical holiness results in a person becoming peculiar, strange, and eccentric. The opposite is in fact the case. God's supernatural life dwelling in a soul tends to make it more normal. Supernatural grace heals human nature. As this supernatural life grows in the soul, the kinks, imbalances, and peculiarities of the soul are straightened out.
As the soul grows in grace it tends more towards the natural, and more and more of its actions become appropriate to the situation at hand. A "holy" person who is odd, angry, aggressive, or controlling is probably not as deeply holy as he hoped. (It may be objected that there were saints who were odd, and that many devout people have noticeable personality flaws. But whenever this is so, it is despite their sanctity, not because of it. Perhaps it is these areas of abnormality into which the transforming power of Christ has not yet reached).
We may be surprised to find that one of the surpassing happinesses of heaven is that heaven is utterly more natural than nature on earth. With respect to this, the philosophers tell us that being as being or "that which is" has transcendental properties - that is, properties which belong to being as being so that everything that exists partakes of them. Some of these transcendentals are *unity,* *intelligibility,* *goodness,* and *beauty.*
Unity means that insofar as something has being, it is one thing. When something is made multiple by being disassembled, it ceases to be what it is. Intelligibility means that insofar as something has being, it makes sense to our intellects. When we observe natural things around us such as clouds, trees, animals, mountains, and man-made things such as houses and cars, our intellects understand what they are, rather than registering a meaningless pattern of sensations. Goodness means that insofar as something has being, it is an object of love or attraction. If we study reality on the metaphysical level, we can see that the multitude of entities within it have affinities for each other - e.g. the chicks for their mother, the earth for the rain, and male for female. Being as being is beautiful. Any objective ugliness encountered within something means that some non-being is mingled with it. In the same way, any evil encountered within something means that it contains non-being - since evil is a privation of due being or good.
The property of *naturalness* can also be considered a transcendental. Being as being is natural. As intelligibility addresses the intellect, as goodness addresses the will, and as beauty addresses both the intellect and affectivity, naturalness addresses the affectivity (spiritual emotion). It might best be described as the feeling and comfort of "home." It is the comfort of an old shoe or the lack of strain and comfort of an old friend whose behavior is precisely synchronized with your personality.
Nature in the outdoors is natural because everything is there as God intended it. It has an appropriateness and lack of strain beyond the power of man to produce. Flowing water or a fire in a fireplace are soothing precisely because of their naturalness. To be natural is the opposite of anything gaudy, contrived, inappropriate, artificial - in short, anything that seems out of place or "sticks out like a sore thumb."
Since naturalness is a transcendental, anything which displays unnaturalness has some non-being mingled with it (in which case it would also contain unintelligibility, evil, and ugliness). If naturalness is a transcendental property of being, the higher the level of being, the greater the naturalness. Heaven is far more natural than the physical universe because its level of being is far higher. Thus, as our souls ascend higher toward Heaven, we do not more and more depart from the domain of the normal and more and more enter the region of the bizarre, but encounter what is more and more deeply natural -- the more deeply does everything have a "right" feel, and the more deeply do we feel at home.
The ultimate and eternal happiness in heaven is the face-to-face vision of God and an ineffable personal union with Him. Whereas all else is being (or "that which is") in a finite mode - circumscribed by limitations, God is Pure Being who has no limitations and who is completely uncircumscribed. God is Infinite Existence. The transcendentals apply to Him to an infinite degree. The most universally known transcendental, as applied to God, is infinite goodness. This is expressed in His infinite love. As St. John the Apostle says: "God is Love" (1 John 4:8). It is our deepest desire to love and to be loved, and this will be fulfilled perfectly in heaven.
The transcendental naturalness must also apply to God to an infinite degree. God, being supernatural, is not a-natural or unnatural. He is infinitely natural. In union with God in heaven, we will have an infinite sense that we are home.
Part III
This brings us full circle - back to Pope John Paul II. He is so personally attractive and radiates God's light so, because he is exceedingly natural and balanced as a person. It is a naturalness and balance that only the intense supernatural life dwelling within him can explain. It is precisely for this reason that the integrists (extreme traditionalists) oppose him.
Although integrism is a reaction against modernism, it is an over-reaction. It rejects what is valid about modernity and the proper adaptations which the post-conciliar popes have made to the modern world (such as communicating the Ancient Truth in modern language). Instead, integrists cling to fossilized forms of the past, with an exaggerated supernaturalism which is disconnected from what is validly good and natural in the earthly sphere.
The result of such a practice could be a person who is extremely pious and follows the traditional rubrics scrupulously, yet radiates no warmth, kindness, or natural charity towards others. Such a person is only interested in the "soul," and does not affirm the natural human need for wholeness in the physical or emotional sphere.
With such an exaggerated supernaturalism, it is forgotten that man is a composite of body and soul and that God intends the integrity of the whole person. Pope John Paul II is so effective as an apostle because he affirms all that is good and natural - both supernaturally and earthly.
He knows that the most important thing is the salvation of the soul, but he is at the same time the foremost defender of human dignity and human rights in the world. He defends the sanctity of life, from conception to natural death. This is expressed in his opposition to laws that allow the destruction of the unborn, and in his support for the poor and downtrodden in his advancement of a valid social justice. In his World Youth Day he demonstrates his practical concern for the young, thus reaching them with the Gospel and the Message of Life. He adapts himself to whatever is valid in other religions, systems, and cultures.
Unlike what the integrist believes, goodness and truth are not confined to a specific traditional form of "Catholic" but are to be recognized wherever they exist. This is precisely what John Paul II does. He knows that to effectively evangelize, one must first recognize the partial truth and goodness that others have and then build upon that to bring them to the fullness of the truth that exists only in the Catholic Church. John Paul II demonstrates in his person that he is the head of the one religion which is fully good, true, one, intelligible, and natural.
** Endnote - Although many refer to angels, demons, and human souls as supernatural beings, they are not. These are designated "preternatural." God is the only supernatural being. God is unique in that he infinitely transcends anything else, no matter how exalted it might be, hence God has a unique supernatural essence. However, the quality of being supernatural can be communicated to man by God as a gift, so that man partakes of God's nature. This gift of the supernatural to man is known as sanctifying grace. The level of grace, which corresponds to the level of charity in the soul, can always increase throughout one's life on this earth. It is precisely this intense supernatural light which radiates from those who are in profound communion with God.
By Jim J. McCrea
First Published in 2002 - Republished in Honor of the Announcement of His Beatification.
Part I
Wherever Pope John Paul II travels in the world, he often attracts hundreds of thousands of people to hear and see him. I believe that there is more to this attraction than his status as Vicar of Christ for the faithful on earth. For the World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002, I watched the Pope get off the plane, walk over, and then make his first speech for that event. I then saw him on television again, presiding at the Mass at Downsview airport which was the concluding event of WYD.
My reaction upon seeing him on television was a tremendous sense of spiritual joy. This was from what I believe is the presence of God shining through him. In His inner eternal life, God is infinite purity, goodness, peace, order, happiness, and joy. God created man precisely to share in His infinitely blessed life of absolute happiness for all eternity. In other words, we were created to be united to the Real.
Those who live an intense supernatural interior life, fed by prayer, meditation, contemplation, mortification, and the sacraments, exist in intimate contact with the Ultimate Reality who is God, and so to speak, form a window through which others can see this Ultimate Reality. God lives in such people so profoundly that the light of the supernatural radiates through their being and overflows onto others in a way that can be perceived and which has a tremendous influence.
Not only in seeing Pope John Paul II on television, but also viewing still pictures of him brings one great spiritual joy and comfort. Even in still images, something of the almighty fatherly care of God can be seen in the Holy Father which cuts oppressive evils down to size. Many others have similar reactions, particularly when seeing him in person. In the Pope's presence, grown men burst into tears, and otherwise, people sense a tremendous spiritual electricity. Despite his frail physical appearance, he is so attractive a human being and has such an effect upon others, because something of the infinite joy of God shines through him. His mere bodily appearance generates a spiritual consolation. In his preaching and works, John Paul II is fruitful in producing goodness upon the earth and illuminating it with the Truth, precisely because he lives in such intimate union with God. This, no doubt, comes from the Pope's intense prayer life. It is reported that he prays up to seven hours per day, and spends two hours per day before the Blessed Sacrament.
Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard in his book, "The Soul of the Apostolate" discusses the necessity of the interior supernatural life of God dwelling in the soul (by the power of the Holy Spirit) if one is to be a fruitful worker for God in this life. Modernists do not see the supernatural, rather they come to exclusively value empirically visible tangible reality. In many cases, God for them is little but the visible goodness that can be seen in physically observable good works.
Thus, for them, social justice and the visible community (while very good in themselves, derived from the Gospels) is the be-all and end-all of the Faith, ignoring supernatural elements such as the Mass as Sacrifice, Eucharistic Adoration, interior prayer, personal virtue, sexual purity, mortification, the Cross, judgment, heaven, and hell. The Faith is thus reduced to naturalistic humanitarian social service. Social justice becomes a substitute for orthodoxy, rather than an expression of it conducted in the light of supernatural realities - true social justice, which is based upon justice to persons which is founded upon the right to life from the moment of conception to natural death because each person is made in the image of God. The horizontal empirical needs of one's neighbor are given exclusive focus, while forgetting that the glorification of God and the eternal salvation of the soul are primary (some modernists focus exclusively on reforming structures, forgetting that good structures will not work if the people within them lack holiness and morality. The priest who makes himself readily available to hear confessions is facilitating peace and justice in society perhaps more than anything else. This is forgotten when sin is seen in structures rather than in individuals. Priests should preach on sin and its consequences).
Of course it is an essential part of the mission of the Church to help the poor, the widowed, and the orphaned. But as Chautard explains in his book, one must be first filled with the presence of God through generous sacrificial prayer to be effective at all in Christ's vineyard. Only prayer can give this to a person. It is impossible to acquire by one's own efforts. As Christ said: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who lives in Me and I in him, will produce abundantly, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Those who give themselves to "good works" without God's inner life animating them, are less useful from God's point of view. Despite apparent success and the acclaim of others of "how much good they are doing", it is possible they could be doing harm in the long run.
This is perhaps because they are operating from natural enthusiasm, a natural desire for results which makes them feel good, and from a hunger for the applause of others, rather than from motives of supernatural charity. They may be doing harm rather than good precisely because they are not working in accordance with the will of God. They are communicating the contagion of their own vanity, rather than the supernatural unction of Christ. Mother Teresa was a true model of helping the destitute because she put God's truth and the supernatural first. Her Missionaries of Charity flourish the way they do, in a large part, because they spend at least one hour in Eucharistic Adoration each day.
As with John Paul II, others have been noted to be effective in doing good to others, simply through the supernatural which they radiate, even if it seems they are not doing much from the natural tangible point of view. Contemplation, or a profound supernatural union with God, is not only necessary for action, but is an end in itself and has an efficacy all of its own. I quote from The Soul of the Apostolate:
"The professor who has no interior life imagines he has done all that is required of him if he keeps within the limits of the program of his examination. But if he is a man of prayer, some word will now and again slip out, not only from his lips but from his heart: some sentiment or other will show itself in his expression, some significant gesture will escape him. Yes, the mere way he makes the sign of the Cross or says a prayer before or after class - even a class in mathematics! - may have a more profound influence on his students than a whole sermon." (p. 116)
"St. John Vianney had a voice so weak that it could not reach most of the crowd that surged around him. But if people could hardly hear him, they saw him; they saw a living monstrance of God, and the mere sight of him overwhelmed those who were there, and converted them. A lawyer had just returned from Ars. Someone asked him what it was that impressed him. He said: "I have seen God in a man." (p. 121)
Those who have a profound interior life, like Pope John Paul II, move closer towards their goal which is the face-to-face vision of God in heaven. Not only this, they are very powerful in assisting in the salvation of others. We are on a journey in this life, and the goal for each of us is eternal heaven. What is often forgotten by many Catholics is the fact that the most important activity in our lives, with respect to ourselves and others, is the saving of our soul and helping others to save theirs.
Heaven is not a sure thing for us in this life (unless one has been confirmed in grace), but eternal hell is a possibility if we misuse our free will. We must always be vigilant, not only for ourselves, but for our neighbor as well. Often topics such as bettering the world or what our faith can do for us in this life are stressed in homilies at Mass, but as important as these are, they are secondary. This life lasts only for a time. Heaven and hell last forever; they contain vastly greater good and evil respectively than anything possible on this earth. What is at stake for each of us is infinite.
Part II
There is a common misconception that advanced mystical holiness results in a person becoming peculiar, strange, and eccentric. The opposite is in fact the case. God's supernatural life dwelling in a soul tends to make it more normal. Supernatural grace heals human nature. As this supernatural life grows in the soul, the kinks, imbalances, and peculiarities of the soul are straightened out.
As the soul grows in grace it tends more towards the natural, and more and more of its actions become appropriate to the situation at hand. A "holy" person who is odd, angry, aggressive, or controlling is probably not as deeply holy as he hoped. (It may be objected that there were saints who were odd, and that many devout people have noticeable personality flaws. But whenever this is so, it is despite their sanctity, not because of it. Perhaps it is these areas of abnormality into which the transforming power of Christ has not yet reached).
We may be surprised to find that one of the surpassing happinesses of heaven is that heaven is utterly more natural than nature on earth. With respect to this, the philosophers tell us that being as being or "that which is" has transcendental properties - that is, properties which belong to being as being so that everything that exists partakes of them. Some of these transcendentals are *unity,* *intelligibility,* *goodness,* and *beauty.*
Unity means that insofar as something has being, it is one thing. When something is made multiple by being disassembled, it ceases to be what it is. Intelligibility means that insofar as something has being, it makes sense to our intellects. When we observe natural things around us such as clouds, trees, animals, mountains, and man-made things such as houses and cars, our intellects understand what they are, rather than registering a meaningless pattern of sensations. Goodness means that insofar as something has being, it is an object of love or attraction. If we study reality on the metaphysical level, we can see that the multitude of entities within it have affinities for each other - e.g. the chicks for their mother, the earth for the rain, and male for female. Being as being is beautiful. Any objective ugliness encountered within something means that some non-being is mingled with it. In the same way, any evil encountered within something means that it contains non-being - since evil is a privation of due being or good.
The property of *naturalness* can also be considered a transcendental. Being as being is natural. As intelligibility addresses the intellect, as goodness addresses the will, and as beauty addresses both the intellect and affectivity, naturalness addresses the affectivity (spiritual emotion). It might best be described as the feeling and comfort of "home." It is the comfort of an old shoe or the lack of strain and comfort of an old friend whose behavior is precisely synchronized with your personality.
Nature in the outdoors is natural because everything is there as God intended it. It has an appropriateness and lack of strain beyond the power of man to produce. Flowing water or a fire in a fireplace are soothing precisely because of their naturalness. To be natural is the opposite of anything gaudy, contrived, inappropriate, artificial - in short, anything that seems out of place or "sticks out like a sore thumb."
Since naturalness is a transcendental, anything which displays unnaturalness has some non-being mingled with it (in which case it would also contain unintelligibility, evil, and ugliness). If naturalness is a transcendental property of being, the higher the level of being, the greater the naturalness. Heaven is far more natural than the physical universe because its level of being is far higher. Thus, as our souls ascend higher toward Heaven, we do not more and more depart from the domain of the normal and more and more enter the region of the bizarre, but encounter what is more and more deeply natural -- the more deeply does everything have a "right" feel, and the more deeply do we feel at home.
The ultimate and eternal happiness in heaven is the face-to-face vision of God and an ineffable personal union with Him. Whereas all else is being (or "that which is") in a finite mode - circumscribed by limitations, God is Pure Being who has no limitations and who is completely uncircumscribed. God is Infinite Existence. The transcendentals apply to Him to an infinite degree. The most universally known transcendental, as applied to God, is infinite goodness. This is expressed in His infinite love. As St. John the Apostle says: "God is Love" (1 John 4:8). It is our deepest desire to love and to be loved, and this will be fulfilled perfectly in heaven.
The transcendental naturalness must also apply to God to an infinite degree. God, being supernatural, is not a-natural or unnatural. He is infinitely natural. In union with God in heaven, we will have an infinite sense that we are home.
Part III
This brings us full circle - back to Pope John Paul II. He is so personally attractive and radiates God's light so, because he is exceedingly natural and balanced as a person. It is a naturalness and balance that only the intense supernatural life dwelling within him can explain. It is precisely for this reason that the integrists (extreme traditionalists) oppose him.
Although integrism is a reaction against modernism, it is an over-reaction. It rejects what is valid about modernity and the proper adaptations which the post-conciliar popes have made to the modern world (such as communicating the Ancient Truth in modern language). Instead, integrists cling to fossilized forms of the past, with an exaggerated supernaturalism which is disconnected from what is validly good and natural in the earthly sphere.
The result of such a practice could be a person who is extremely pious and follows the traditional rubrics scrupulously, yet radiates no warmth, kindness, or natural charity towards others. Such a person is only interested in the "soul," and does not affirm the natural human need for wholeness in the physical or emotional sphere.
With such an exaggerated supernaturalism, it is forgotten that man is a composite of body and soul and that God intends the integrity of the whole person. Pope John Paul II is so effective as an apostle because he affirms all that is good and natural - both supernaturally and earthly.
He knows that the most important thing is the salvation of the soul, but he is at the same time the foremost defender of human dignity and human rights in the world. He defends the sanctity of life, from conception to natural death. This is expressed in his opposition to laws that allow the destruction of the unborn, and in his support for the poor and downtrodden in his advancement of a valid social justice. In his World Youth Day he demonstrates his practical concern for the young, thus reaching them with the Gospel and the Message of Life. He adapts himself to whatever is valid in other religions, systems, and cultures.
Unlike what the integrist believes, goodness and truth are not confined to a specific traditional form of "Catholic" but are to be recognized wherever they exist. This is precisely what John Paul II does. He knows that to effectively evangelize, one must first recognize the partial truth and goodness that others have and then build upon that to bring them to the fullness of the truth that exists only in the Catholic Church. John Paul II demonstrates in his person that he is the head of the one religion which is fully good, true, one, intelligible, and natural.
** Endnote - Although many refer to angels, demons, and human souls as supernatural beings, they are not. These are designated "preternatural." God is the only supernatural being. God is unique in that he infinitely transcends anything else, no matter how exalted it might be, hence God has a unique supernatural essence. However, the quality of being supernatural can be communicated to man by God as a gift, so that man partakes of God's nature. This gift of the supernatural to man is known as sanctifying grace. The level of grace, which corresponds to the level of charity in the soul, can always increase throughout one's life on this earth. It is precisely this intense supernatural light which radiates from those who are in profound communion with God.
Reader Feedback on Martin Luther King Jr.
Folks,
In response to yesterday's post, "Martin Luther King Jr., the Catholic Church and Sexual Morality," a reader offered a link to the following post that provides a rebuttal to the laud typically heaped on Dr. King and his legacy:
"The Dark Side Of Martin Luther King, Jr. by News Guy"
I encourage the interested reader to review this noteworthy essay. Thanks go to Scotju for the feedback.
In response to yesterday's post, "Martin Luther King Jr., the Catholic Church and Sexual Morality," a reader offered a link to the following post that provides a rebuttal to the laud typically heaped on Dr. King and his legacy:
"The Dark Side Of Martin Luther King, Jr. by News Guy"
I encourage the interested reader to review this noteworthy essay. Thanks go to Scotju for the feedback.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Martin Luther King Jr., the Catholic Church and Sexual Morality
Folks,
Yesterday we celebrated the memory and civil rights activism of Martin Luther King Jr. But today's activists have hijacked this celebration to extol the sanctification of sodomy as marriage, insist on a woman's "right" to murder her unborn child, and promote the indiscriminate use of contraception, thereby divorcing procreative from unitive love within the conjugal act. Fortunately, as the Catholic News Agency reports, Christian leaders rally against gay activists 'hijacking' Martin Luther King legacy. Martin Luther King Jr., much to the dismay of today's lily white rich liberal politicians (Biden, Pelosi, Kerry, Kucinich, Cuomo, etc.), opposed sodomy, adultery and fornication, and abortion. Now our liberal detractors will immediately point out Dr. King's failures to remain faithful in his marriage as some sort of "proof" that adultery and fornication are perfectly acceptable. This is simply saying that because a man failed to live up to his ideals, then the ideals must be bad. That is the type of logic one should expect from those who deify scientism and rationalization to godhead. The ideals are correct (and in the best of 2000 years of unbroken Christian tradition). The man himself was imperfect.
Now the definitive teaching of the Church with regard to human sexuality and the regulation of birth may be found in Pope Paul VI's Encyclical, Humanae Vitae. For my dear Protestant friends, everything Pope Paul VI writes is entirely consistent with Biblical principals. It has to be, for Truth rests on the three legged stool of the teaching authority of the Magisterium of the Church (1 Timothy 3:15), Sacred Tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15) and Sacred Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16).
Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV also discusses this issue of sexuality and how the infiltration of the smoke of Satan (i.e., liberalism) into the Church has resulted in more than forty years of wandering in the desert since Vatican II was hijacked by the left:
Sex, Sex, Sex
As Mr. Voris explains, "Sexual morality is a BIG issue in the Church these days. The lack of consistent preaching has created a world of woes for Catholics specifically and the world at large." Regardless of all his faults to the contrary, Dr. King apparently did not have this problem and he was a Protestant. Of course today he would be castigated as part of the religious right were he now alive.
Yesterday we celebrated the memory and civil rights activism of Martin Luther King Jr. But today's activists have hijacked this celebration to extol the sanctification of sodomy as marriage, insist on a woman's "right" to murder her unborn child, and promote the indiscriminate use of contraception, thereby divorcing procreative from unitive love within the conjugal act. Fortunately, as the Catholic News Agency reports, Christian leaders rally against gay activists 'hijacking' Martin Luther King legacy. Martin Luther King Jr., much to the dismay of today's lily white rich liberal politicians (Biden, Pelosi, Kerry, Kucinich, Cuomo, etc.), opposed sodomy, adultery and fornication, and abortion. Now our liberal detractors will immediately point out Dr. King's failures to remain faithful in his marriage as some sort of "proof" that adultery and fornication are perfectly acceptable. This is simply saying that because a man failed to live up to his ideals, then the ideals must be bad. That is the type of logic one should expect from those who deify scientism and rationalization to godhead. The ideals are correct (and in the best of 2000 years of unbroken Christian tradition). The man himself was imperfect.
Now the definitive teaching of the Church with regard to human sexuality and the regulation of birth may be found in Pope Paul VI's Encyclical, Humanae Vitae. For my dear Protestant friends, everything Pope Paul VI writes is entirely consistent with Biblical principals. It has to be, for Truth rests on the three legged stool of the teaching authority of the Magisterium of the Church (1 Timothy 3:15), Sacred Tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15) and Sacred Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16).
Michael Voris of Real Catholic TV also discusses this issue of sexuality and how the infiltration of the smoke of Satan (i.e., liberalism) into the Church has resulted in more than forty years of wandering in the desert since Vatican II was hijacked by the left:
Sex, Sex, Sex
As Mr. Voris explains, "Sexual morality is a BIG issue in the Church these days. The lack of consistent preaching has created a world of woes for Catholics specifically and the world at large." Regardless of all his faults to the contrary, Dr. King apparently did not have this problem and he was a Protestant. Of course today he would be castigated as part of the religious right were he now alive.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Killings of Newborns on the Rise in Pakistan
Folks,
Yahoo this morning had a very sad story entitled, Killings of Newborns on the Rise in Pakistan. Apparently, because of adultery, babies are being born out of wedlock, and because of Islamic proscription against adulterers, the evidence of the adultery - the babies - are being murdered. Last year 1210 were put to death. Now what is the liberal solution?
"Abortion is prohibited in Pakistan, except when the mother's life is at risk from her pregnancy, but advocates say that legalisation would reduce infanticide and save mothers from potentially fatal back-street terminations."
Liberals refuse to acknowledge that abortion is murdering a baby BEFORE birth and this act is NO different than murdering a baby AFTER birth. The solution is NOT murder. The solution is stopping the adultery. If we adhere to God's Laws, then there would not be a problem: thou shalt NOT commit adultery - no sex outside of the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. None. Zero. Zip point squat.
But liberals think it's perfectly OK to wade and wallow in the muck of sexual promiscuity, mating like baboons in heat without thought of the consequence of such actions. And they would have us believe that because they are godless atheists devoted to scientism and rationalization, they operate from the highest motives of logic. We know, however, what their logic is: to rut like a wild beast without responsibility or accountability, and then murder the consequence because they can't keep their pants zipped up and their legs closed. Now they wish to export this to Pakistan. It isn't enough that 1.1 million babies are murdered by slow torture and dismemberment in their mothers' wombs in these United State every year. It isn't enough that 1210 babies already born were murdered in Pakistan last year. The godless reprobate liberals demonicly need that number to rise.
And let us NOT forget: Congresswomen Giffords is a liberal who believes in the right to choose, which is just another way of saying that an unborn baby should receive what a mad man wickedly intended for her. These facts must be shoved into every godless liberal's face. They must be held accountable for murder on a scale that would have made Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin green with envy.
Yahoo this morning had a very sad story entitled, Killings of Newborns on the Rise in Pakistan. Apparently, because of adultery, babies are being born out of wedlock, and because of Islamic proscription against adulterers, the evidence of the adultery - the babies - are being murdered. Last year 1210 were put to death. Now what is the liberal solution?
"Abortion is prohibited in Pakistan, except when the mother's life is at risk from her pregnancy, but advocates say that legalisation would reduce infanticide and save mothers from potentially fatal back-street terminations."
Liberals refuse to acknowledge that abortion is murdering a baby BEFORE birth and this act is NO different than murdering a baby AFTER birth. The solution is NOT murder. The solution is stopping the adultery. If we adhere to God's Laws, then there would not be a problem: thou shalt NOT commit adultery - no sex outside of the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. None. Zero. Zip point squat.
But liberals think it's perfectly OK to wade and wallow in the muck of sexual promiscuity, mating like baboons in heat without thought of the consequence of such actions. And they would have us believe that because they are godless atheists devoted to scientism and rationalization, they operate from the highest motives of logic. We know, however, what their logic is: to rut like a wild beast without responsibility or accountability, and then murder the consequence because they can't keep their pants zipped up and their legs closed. Now they wish to export this to Pakistan. It isn't enough that 1.1 million babies are murdered by slow torture and dismemberment in their mothers' wombs in these United State every year. It isn't enough that 1210 babies already born were murdered in Pakistan last year. The godless reprobate liberals demonicly need that number to rise.
And let us NOT forget: Congresswomen Giffords is a liberal who believes in the right to choose, which is just another way of saying that an unborn baby should receive what a mad man wickedly intended for her. These facts must be shoved into every godless liberal's face. They must be held accountable for murder on a scale that would have made Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin green with envy.
Pope Benedict XVI to the Politicians of Rome
Folks,
Pope Benedict XVI's speech to the politicians of Rome is noteworhty for what it emphasizes as the priority of our elected leaders:
Benedict XVI's Address to Mayor of Rome
This speech addresses the would-be perversion of the family in today's society with the following words:
Original cell of the society is the family, founded on marriage between a man and woman. It is in the family that the children learn the human and Christian values that make possible constructive and peaceful coexistence. It is in the family that solidarity between the generations, respect for rules, forgiveness and acceptance of the other is learned. It is in their own home that young people, experiencing the affection of their parents, discover what love is and learn to love. Hence, the family must be supported by organic policies that are not limited to propose solutions to contingent problems but have as their aim its consolidation and development and are accompanied by an adequate educational endeavor. At times, unfortunately, grave violent events occur, and some aspects of crisis of the family are amplified, caused by rapid social and cultural changes.
Also the approval of forms of union that pervert the essence and end of the family, ends by penalizing all those who, not without effort, are committed to living stable affective bonds, guaranteed juridically and recognized publicly. In this perspective, the Church looks favorably on all those initiatives that seek to educate young people to live love in the logic of the gift of self, with a lofty and oblative vision of sexuality. Serving this aim is an educational convergence between the different components of the society, so that human love is not reduced to an object to consume, but can be perceived and lived as a fundamental experience that gives meaning and purpose to existence.
Our own Congresswoman Giffords (who as we all know was the victim of a murderous shooting spree by a deranged lunatic) opposes (like the rest of her left-wing comrades) our Holy Father's commitment to the sanctity of marriage with her support of that perversion known as "same sex marriage." Let us not in the weakness of sympathy forget that while what was done to Congresswoman Giffords was utterly evil, what she supports is just as evil:
Representative Giffords' Issue Positions
Pope Benedict XVI's speech to the politicians of Rome is noteworhty for what it emphasizes as the priority of our elected leaders:
Benedict XVI's Address to Mayor of Rome
This speech addresses the would-be perversion of the family in today's society with the following words:
Original cell of the society is the family, founded on marriage between a man and woman. It is in the family that the children learn the human and Christian values that make possible constructive and peaceful coexistence. It is in the family that solidarity between the generations, respect for rules, forgiveness and acceptance of the other is learned. It is in their own home that young people, experiencing the affection of their parents, discover what love is and learn to love. Hence, the family must be supported by organic policies that are not limited to propose solutions to contingent problems but have as their aim its consolidation and development and are accompanied by an adequate educational endeavor. At times, unfortunately, grave violent events occur, and some aspects of crisis of the family are amplified, caused by rapid social and cultural changes.
Also the approval of forms of union that pervert the essence and end of the family, ends by penalizing all those who, not without effort, are committed to living stable affective bonds, guaranteed juridically and recognized publicly. In this perspective, the Church looks favorably on all those initiatives that seek to educate young people to live love in the logic of the gift of self, with a lofty and oblative vision of sexuality. Serving this aim is an educational convergence between the different components of the society, so that human love is not reduced to an object to consume, but can be perceived and lived as a fundamental experience that gives meaning and purpose to existence.
Our own Congresswoman Giffords (who as we all know was the victim of a murderous shooting spree by a deranged lunatic) opposes (like the rest of her left-wing comrades) our Holy Father's commitment to the sanctity of marriage with her support of that perversion known as "same sex marriage." Let us not in the weakness of sympathy forget that while what was done to Congresswoman Giffords was utterly evil, what she supports is just as evil:
Representative Giffords' Issue Positions
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Blood Libel, Sarah Palin and Abraham Lincoln
Folks,
I am no expert in matters concerning the US Civil War from 1860 to 1865, nor do I categorically praise the Union side or condemn the Confederate side. Indeed, to its credit, the Confederate side was correct about States' rights, and the Union victory set the nation on course for empire. All these things being said, it is fascinating to note that just as a majority of Democrats 160 years ago supported the enslavement by Caucasians of those of Negroid descent, so also today though the means are different. In this modern era free handouts from the public treasury are offered to minorities such as Blacks and Hispanics, preventing them from ever working for what they need and forever shackling them to the teat of the public treasury so that those who dole out such handouts (much as Caligula flung gold coins out to the rabble in the streets of ancient Rome) will be re-elected time and again. Now Republicans are hardly guiltless in this bribery for votes; that sort of thing goes along with being a politician. Hence we must ever remember Jesus words to Pontius Pilate, "My Kingdom is not of this world." Thus, when a Democrat (or even a Republican) claims to be doing God's work by serving social justice and the common good, he is possessed of an arrogance which assumes he can create God's Kingdom on Earth. This is perhaps no different than the Democratic southern plantationer of the 1850s claiming that without him his Negro slaves would have nowhere to turn in order to live and subsist. But the fact of the matter is that both cases are enslavement of man by man. The purpose of government is never to become mother nanny, but to protect people's freedoms to make their own decisions and be responsible for their outcomes. Beyond the common defense and public health and safety, the powers of government must be limited. Otherwise, Dr. Jerry Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy takes hold and the nation evolves into a Soviet style dictatorship where nameless and faceless agencies make regulations and the Constitution becomes a meaningless piece of paper. Then, as Tea Partiers call out the situation as it is in the light of day, accusations start flying. Such was the case in Lincoln’s famous Cooper Union Address on February 27, 1860 which is discussed at the American Catholic blog site. What is interesting then is that the Democrats considered themselves conservative and the Republicans liberal.
Please left click your mouse cursor on the hyperlinked text, Cooper Union Address, to read this important speech and think well on how much the Democrats hated Abraham Lincoln back then, and how much they hate Sarah Palin here and now. Yes, I agree that Sarah Palin is no Abraham Lincoln; anyone can see that. And yes, the Union was wrong when it came to the issue of States' rights. That isn't the point. What is the point is that this nation went through five years of bloody Civil War where from the same family brother killed brother, and we as a nation stand at that very precipice right now. Just as slavery was the moral issue of that time, masked and diluted by all the economic disparities between North and South, so now are abortion and gay marriage the moral issues of our time, masked and diluted by far greater economic disparities between the rich lilly white Democrat liberals (Biden, Kerry, Pelosi, etc.) with their part white, part black token (Obama) and a populace of blacks and Hispanics whom they keep enslaved to the teat of the public treasury. It is the lack of morals that causes bloodshed and war. Father Corapi last night on EWTN TV spoke about this issue when he explained that abortion is the reason, the primary cause, for this nation's economic demise and rampant criminal violence. Liberals can blame (quite falsely) Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and other conservatives for inciting violence against liberals (this is called quite correctly blood libel), but the case of Congresswoman Giffords demonstrates that it was a mad man who committed the crime. Furthermore, as long as we murder the unborn, there will be more murder of adults. Slavery and murder inevitably beget more slavery and murder; it is a positive feedback cycle. But today, Civil War would not be between geographical locations; it would be total anarchy as vast groups rise up - left and right - fighting and murdering each other. Is that what either side wants? In the case of the baby-murdering, sodomy-sanctifying left, one has no alternative but to assume so. As Abraham Lincoln said:
I would say to them:–You consider yourselves a reasonable and a just people; and I consider that in the general qualities of reason and justice you are not inferior to any other people. Still, when you speak of us Republicans, you do so only to denounce us as reptiles, or, at the best, as no better than outlaws. You will grant a hearing to pirates or murderers, but nothing like it to “Black Republicans.” In all your contentions with one another, each of you deems an unconditional condemnation of “Black Republicanism” as the first thing to be attended to. Indeed, such condemnation of us seems to be an indispensable prerequisite–license, so to speak–among you to be admitted or permitted to speak at all. Now, can you, or not, be prevailed upon to pause and to consider whether this is quite just to us, or even to yourselves? Bring forward your charges and specifications, and then be patient long enough to hear us deny or justify...
...You charge that we stir up insurrections among your slaves. We deny it; and what is your proof? Harper’s Ferry! John Brown!! John Brown was no Republican; and you have failed to implicate a single Republican in his Harper’s Ferry enterprise. If any member of our party is guilty in that matter, you know it or you do not know it. If you do know it, you are inexcusable for not designating the man and proving the fact. If you do not know it, you are inexcusable for asserting it, and especially for persisting in the assertion after you have tried and failed to make the proof. You need not be told that persisting in a charge which one does not know to be true, is simply malicious slander.
I am no expert in matters concerning the US Civil War from 1860 to 1865, nor do I categorically praise the Union side or condemn the Confederate side. Indeed, to its credit, the Confederate side was correct about States' rights, and the Union victory set the nation on course for empire. All these things being said, it is fascinating to note that just as a majority of Democrats 160 years ago supported the enslavement by Caucasians of those of Negroid descent, so also today though the means are different. In this modern era free handouts from the public treasury are offered to minorities such as Blacks and Hispanics, preventing them from ever working for what they need and forever shackling them to the teat of the public treasury so that those who dole out such handouts (much as Caligula flung gold coins out to the rabble in the streets of ancient Rome) will be re-elected time and again. Now Republicans are hardly guiltless in this bribery for votes; that sort of thing goes along with being a politician. Hence we must ever remember Jesus words to Pontius Pilate, "My Kingdom is not of this world." Thus, when a Democrat (or even a Republican) claims to be doing God's work by serving social justice and the common good, he is possessed of an arrogance which assumes he can create God's Kingdom on Earth. This is perhaps no different than the Democratic southern plantationer of the 1850s claiming that without him his Negro slaves would have nowhere to turn in order to live and subsist. But the fact of the matter is that both cases are enslavement of man by man. The purpose of government is never to become mother nanny, but to protect people's freedoms to make their own decisions and be responsible for their outcomes. Beyond the common defense and public health and safety, the powers of government must be limited. Otherwise, Dr. Jerry Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy takes hold and the nation evolves into a Soviet style dictatorship where nameless and faceless agencies make regulations and the Constitution becomes a meaningless piece of paper. Then, as Tea Partiers call out the situation as it is in the light of day, accusations start flying. Such was the case in Lincoln’s famous Cooper Union Address on February 27, 1860 which is discussed at the American Catholic blog site. What is interesting then is that the Democrats considered themselves conservative and the Republicans liberal.
Please left click your mouse cursor on the hyperlinked text, Cooper Union Address, to read this important speech and think well on how much the Democrats hated Abraham Lincoln back then, and how much they hate Sarah Palin here and now. Yes, I agree that Sarah Palin is no Abraham Lincoln; anyone can see that. And yes, the Union was wrong when it came to the issue of States' rights. That isn't the point. What is the point is that this nation went through five years of bloody Civil War where from the same family brother killed brother, and we as a nation stand at that very precipice right now. Just as slavery was the moral issue of that time, masked and diluted by all the economic disparities between North and South, so now are abortion and gay marriage the moral issues of our time, masked and diluted by far greater economic disparities between the rich lilly white Democrat liberals (Biden, Kerry, Pelosi, etc.) with their part white, part black token (Obama) and a populace of blacks and Hispanics whom they keep enslaved to the teat of the public treasury. It is the lack of morals that causes bloodshed and war. Father Corapi last night on EWTN TV spoke about this issue when he explained that abortion is the reason, the primary cause, for this nation's economic demise and rampant criminal violence. Liberals can blame (quite falsely) Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and other conservatives for inciting violence against liberals (this is called quite correctly blood libel), but the case of Congresswoman Giffords demonstrates that it was a mad man who committed the crime. Furthermore, as long as we murder the unborn, there will be more murder of adults. Slavery and murder inevitably beget more slavery and murder; it is a positive feedback cycle. But today, Civil War would not be between geographical locations; it would be total anarchy as vast groups rise up - left and right - fighting and murdering each other. Is that what either side wants? In the case of the baby-murdering, sodomy-sanctifying left, one has no alternative but to assume so. As Abraham Lincoln said:
I would say to them:–You consider yourselves a reasonable and a just people; and I consider that in the general qualities of reason and justice you are not inferior to any other people. Still, when you speak of us Republicans, you do so only to denounce us as reptiles, or, at the best, as no better than outlaws. You will grant a hearing to pirates or murderers, but nothing like it to “Black Republicans.” In all your contentions with one another, each of you deems an unconditional condemnation of “Black Republicanism” as the first thing to be attended to. Indeed, such condemnation of us seems to be an indispensable prerequisite–license, so to speak–among you to be admitted or permitted to speak at all. Now, can you, or not, be prevailed upon to pause and to consider whether this is quite just to us, or even to yourselves? Bring forward your charges and specifications, and then be patient long enough to hear us deny or justify...
...You charge that we stir up insurrections among your slaves. We deny it; and what is your proof? Harper’s Ferry! John Brown!! John Brown was no Republican; and you have failed to implicate a single Republican in his Harper’s Ferry enterprise. If any member of our party is guilty in that matter, you know it or you do not know it. If you do know it, you are inexcusable for not designating the man and proving the fact. If you do not know it, you are inexcusable for asserting it, and especially for persisting in the assertion after you have tried and failed to make the proof. You need not be told that persisting in a charge which one does not know to be true, is simply malicious slander.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Liberals Plan to Murder Sarah Palin
Folks,
Kevin Whiteman of the Conservative Examiner reports "Death Threats Against Palin Caught on You Tube." The You Tube video may be viewed by left clicking your mouse cursor on the hyperlinked text below.
Twitter Users Wish Death on Sarah Palin
We need to remember something very important. While we must NOT excuse the Republicans from culpability, yet it is the liberals who murder by slow torture and dismemberment (and advocate the murder of) defenseless and innocent unborn babies in their mother's wombs (to the tune of fifty million in these United States since Roe v Wade in 1973) so that they can rut in sexual promiscuity without consequence. They call this the right to choose. Choose what? Death for the natural result of their illicit sexual intercourse? In the exact same murderous fashion liberals plan (and advocate in behalf of) the assassination of Sarah Palin for no other reason than that Sarah Palin is a beautiful conservative Christian woman who did NOT follow the advice of her liberal physicians and murder her Down's Syndrome baby Trig in the womb.
To be liberal, to be progressive, to be Democrat is to be a murderer and a sexual pervert by direct action or by association and complicity. The ONLY way to defeat this evil is exactly what St. Paul admonishes in Ephesians 6:11-18:
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14* Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15* and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; 16 besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints...
Neither arms and violence against nor dialogue with and tolerance of liberalism and progressivism have any possibility of defeating this evil. Only Jesus Christ can do so, and one day that will happen. We need to pray and implore God's mercy (praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is an ideal place to start) on this nation before Revelation 19:11-21 come to fulfillment - let Jesus Christ be the answer, NOT us:
11* Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12* His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. 13 He is clad in a robe dipped in * blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. 15* From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16* On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17* Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great." 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Kevin Whiteman of the Conservative Examiner reports "Death Threats Against Palin Caught on You Tube." The You Tube video may be viewed by left clicking your mouse cursor on the hyperlinked text below.
Twitter Users Wish Death on Sarah Palin
We need to remember something very important. While we must NOT excuse the Republicans from culpability, yet it is the liberals who murder by slow torture and dismemberment (and advocate the murder of) defenseless and innocent unborn babies in their mother's wombs (to the tune of fifty million in these United States since Roe v Wade in 1973) so that they can rut in sexual promiscuity without consequence. They call this the right to choose. Choose what? Death for the natural result of their illicit sexual intercourse? In the exact same murderous fashion liberals plan (and advocate in behalf of) the assassination of Sarah Palin for no other reason than that Sarah Palin is a beautiful conservative Christian woman who did NOT follow the advice of her liberal physicians and murder her Down's Syndrome baby Trig in the womb.
To be liberal, to be progressive, to be Democrat is to be a murderer and a sexual pervert by direct action or by association and complicity. The ONLY way to defeat this evil is exactly what St. Paul admonishes in Ephesians 6:11-18:
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14* Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15* and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; 16 besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints...
Neither arms and violence against nor dialogue with and tolerance of liberalism and progressivism have any possibility of defeating this evil. Only Jesus Christ can do so, and one day that will happen. We need to pray and implore God's mercy (praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is an ideal place to start) on this nation before Revelation 19:11-21 come to fulfillment - let Jesus Christ be the answer, NOT us:
11* Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12* His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. 13 He is clad in a robe dipped in * blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. 15* From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16* On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17* Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great." 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Today's Reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews and from the Psalms
Folks,
Today's Readings from the Epistle to the Hebrews (3:7-14) and from the Psalms (95:6-7c, 8-9, 10-11) are so very apropos to our situation here in America. This country was founded as a Christian Constitutional Republic, NOT as a secular humanist atheist Democracy. These readings are a call to return to that foundation:
The Holy Spirit says:
Oh, that today you would hear his voice,
“Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion
in the day of testing in the desert,
where your ancestors tested and tried me
and saw my works for forty years.
Because of this I was provoked with that generation
and I said, ‘They have always been of erring heart,
and they do not know my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter into my rest.’”
Take care, brothers and sisters,
that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart,
so as to forsake the living God.
Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today,”
so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.
We have become partners of Christ
if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Forty years I was wearied of that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray,
they do not know my ways.”
Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Today's Readings from the Epistle to the Hebrews (3:7-14) and from the Psalms (95:6-7c, 8-9, 10-11) are so very apropos to our situation here in America. This country was founded as a Christian Constitutional Republic, NOT as a secular humanist atheist Democracy. These readings are a call to return to that foundation:
The Holy Spirit says:
Oh, that today you would hear his voice,
“Harden not your hearts as at the rebellion
in the day of testing in the desert,
where your ancestors tested and tried me
and saw my works for forty years.
Because of this I was provoked with that generation
and I said, ‘They have always been of erring heart,
and they do not know my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter into my rest.’”
Take care, brothers and sisters,
that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart,
so as to forsake the living God.
Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today,”
so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.
We have become partners of Christ
if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Forty years I was wearied of that generation;
I said: “This people’s heart goes astray,
they do not know my ways.”
Therefore I swore in my anger:
“They shall never enter my rest.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
The Logic of the Culture of Death by Jim McCrea
Folks,
As you read the following essay by my friend and fellow Catholic, the philosopher and apologist Jim McCrea, please remember that President Barack Hussein Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator John Kerry, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Representative Gabrielle Giffords and all the rest of the godless liberal progressive Democrats are a part of the Culture of Death which since Roe v Wade has murdered by torture and dismemberment over 50 million babies in the wombs of their mothers. It is this exact same Culture of Death that put a bullet into Gabrielle Giffords head, and in November of 2009 inspired a crazed Muslim fanatic to go on a murderous shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. The killing has got to stop, and it will only stop when all of us, including these people, repent of our wickedness.
And as Jim explains below, just as a corpse is a collection of cells that were once united to form a living body, so also is the elevation of random individuality as freedom the corpse of a once united society. Until Jesus Christ is front and center, and number one in our lives and our society, until we return to Christian morality and ethics, more unborn babies will be murdered and more Congress people will be shot. We deserve all the results of our "freedom" of promiscuity and murder, which Father Corapi has described as "license" and "enslavement" to sin.
The wages of sin are death. A nine year old girl who couldn't possibly have done anything to deserve death was murdered in the Arizona shootings because of sin. Rejection of God and His laws are the cause - NOT guns. Self will run riot is the cause - NOT guns. SIN is the cause - NOT guns.
-----
The Logic of the Culture of Death
By Jim J. McCrea
The term "Culture of death," coined by Pope John Paul II has an obvious meaning. There is death by abortion and euthanasia. There is death by AIDS, fueled in a large part by sexual immorality. We have school shootings because moral values are no longer taught to many students (you have the right to construct your own moral reality as the U.S. supreme court decided in Casey vs. Planned Parenthood).
There is, however, a deeper meaning to the term "Culture of death." When a human dies, the integrating and life giving principle, called the soul, leaves the body. Nothing is left, therefore, to co-ordinate the actions of the individual cells. The process of decomposition of the body after death, is simply the individual cells each going their own ways. The philosophers have said that a corpse is not a true body but a congeries of bodies. There is no true unity, so there is no longer a single being - better said, there is a multitude of beings in a heap in the approximate form of a human body. It is the same way with society. A society is dead when it is no longer united with its "soul" or unifying principle, which is God. Each person goes his or her own way, in the name of "freedom." But it is the freedom of the cells of a corpse.
The moral law given by God, and written in nature, is not an arbitrary set of rules, but rules determining the proper functioning of the human person, so that all component parts within the person work in harmony, and all persons work in harmony with each other. To follow the moral law as laid down by God, brings peace into the individual and society. Those, agitated by the idea of "progress" and working to destroy traditional morality, are simply putting society and everyone in it on a path of perpetual warfare, tormented discord, and ultimately destruction.
The rejection of the moral law is an echoing of Lucifer's "non-serviam" once again, in which individuals wish to be their own gods. The specific horror of hell is that not only is each person there vying to be number one god, but each faculty within each person is striving to be god as well. This striving for godhood, in hell, goes right down to the atomic level. The fire of hell is simply random agitation on the atomic level as each atom wishes to be its own god without being integrated into the whole. The result of this complete disunity is eternal chaos and torment. This is why hell is an eternal and living death.
Heaven, which is eternal peace and rest, comes about when everything and everyone is united to God who is infinitely simple and unified, so that everything is animated from a Single Principle, around which it is organized, in order that everything be harmonized. Happiness is the abiding in harmony. Since the harmony of heaven is infinite, the happiness there is likewise infinite.
"Progressives" who agitate for a rejection of the traditional Christian moral law, say that they are doing so in the name of freedom. Something is only free, however, when it acts according to its nature. The more something is united to God, the freer it is, because God is the very cause of its being. To be perfectly united to God would not, therefore, be like being tethered to a Jupiter, which would of course be bondage. To attempt to be free by being separated from God is to be simply enslaved to randomizing forces, and in the case of man, to his lower nature (even though it may feel good initially).
As you read the following essay by my friend and fellow Catholic, the philosopher and apologist Jim McCrea, please remember that President Barack Hussein Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator John Kerry, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Representative Gabrielle Giffords and all the rest of the godless liberal progressive Democrats are a part of the Culture of Death which since Roe v Wade has murdered by torture and dismemberment over 50 million babies in the wombs of their mothers. It is this exact same Culture of Death that put a bullet into Gabrielle Giffords head, and in November of 2009 inspired a crazed Muslim fanatic to go on a murderous shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. The killing has got to stop, and it will only stop when all of us, including these people, repent of our wickedness.
And as Jim explains below, just as a corpse is a collection of cells that were once united to form a living body, so also is the elevation of random individuality as freedom the corpse of a once united society. Until Jesus Christ is front and center, and number one in our lives and our society, until we return to Christian morality and ethics, more unborn babies will be murdered and more Congress people will be shot. We deserve all the results of our "freedom" of promiscuity and murder, which Father Corapi has described as "license" and "enslavement" to sin.
The wages of sin are death. A nine year old girl who couldn't possibly have done anything to deserve death was murdered in the Arizona shootings because of sin. Rejection of God and His laws are the cause - NOT guns. Self will run riot is the cause - NOT guns. SIN is the cause - NOT guns.
-----
The Logic of the Culture of Death
By Jim J. McCrea
The term "Culture of death," coined by Pope John Paul II has an obvious meaning. There is death by abortion and euthanasia. There is death by AIDS, fueled in a large part by sexual immorality. We have school shootings because moral values are no longer taught to many students (you have the right to construct your own moral reality as the U.S. supreme court decided in Casey vs. Planned Parenthood).
There is, however, a deeper meaning to the term "Culture of death." When a human dies, the integrating and life giving principle, called the soul, leaves the body. Nothing is left, therefore, to co-ordinate the actions of the individual cells. The process of decomposition of the body after death, is simply the individual cells each going their own ways. The philosophers have said that a corpse is not a true body but a congeries of bodies. There is no true unity, so there is no longer a single being - better said, there is a multitude of beings in a heap in the approximate form of a human body. It is the same way with society. A society is dead when it is no longer united with its "soul" or unifying principle, which is God. Each person goes his or her own way, in the name of "freedom." But it is the freedom of the cells of a corpse.
The moral law given by God, and written in nature, is not an arbitrary set of rules, but rules determining the proper functioning of the human person, so that all component parts within the person work in harmony, and all persons work in harmony with each other. To follow the moral law as laid down by God, brings peace into the individual and society. Those, agitated by the idea of "progress" and working to destroy traditional morality, are simply putting society and everyone in it on a path of perpetual warfare, tormented discord, and ultimately destruction.
The rejection of the moral law is an echoing of Lucifer's "non-serviam" once again, in which individuals wish to be their own gods. The specific horror of hell is that not only is each person there vying to be number one god, but each faculty within each person is striving to be god as well. This striving for godhood, in hell, goes right down to the atomic level. The fire of hell is simply random agitation on the atomic level as each atom wishes to be its own god without being integrated into the whole. The result of this complete disunity is eternal chaos and torment. This is why hell is an eternal and living death.
Heaven, which is eternal peace and rest, comes about when everything and everyone is united to God who is infinitely simple and unified, so that everything is animated from a Single Principle, around which it is organized, in order that everything be harmonized. Happiness is the abiding in harmony. Since the harmony of heaven is infinite, the happiness there is likewise infinite.
"Progressives" who agitate for a rejection of the traditional Christian moral law, say that they are doing so in the name of freedom. Something is only free, however, when it acts according to its nature. The more something is united to God, the freer it is, because God is the very cause of its being. To be perfectly united to God would not, therefore, be like being tethered to a Jupiter, which would of course be bondage. To attempt to be free by being separated from God is to be simply enslaved to randomizing forces, and in the case of man, to his lower nature (even though it may feel good initially).
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