Deep in the hearts of all people in the world is a common hope for peace in the new year but in the minds corrupted by Sin, peace is impossible until the Son of God comes again in glory. Until that day arrives, time continues to advance on earth within the timelessness of an expansive universe and the Heaven above, and it is this annual advancement of time on this tiny planet earth that man of God's creation celebrates in accordance to an orderly rhythm, at different times, depending on where one is at, as listed here: http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/firstnewyear.html.
The hope for peace is a definitive sign that God is still pervasive in a secular world. God has never left, rather it is God's children who have left God to pursue Satanic gifts of power and control, of self-righteousness and arrogance, of ruthlessness and deceit that are the stepping stones to Hell.
It is not enough for those to hope quietly that peace can be achieved without acting in accordance with the teachings of the Prince of Peace Who is Christ Who called on all to love God and to love one's neighbor.
To act in accordance with the Truth is to lead fearlessly and faithfully in order to counteract the fear-mongers, the anxiety-builders and the faithless secularists. Not everyone will want to face the Truth and many envious opportunists will continue with their selfish, prideful and self-centered behaviors and continue to exist in denial, believing that they are entitled, that everyone else owes them, that their time on earth belongs to them and not God. For them, the new year will be a continuation of the last unenlightened one. These naysayers to God will have to be left behind for there are many who are willing to listen, learn and begin their difficult journeys away from darkness. To the willing the angels incarnate will need to give their time and attention.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Conversation With A Homeless Veteran
Last evening on my return home from the gym to the car I had a chance to chat with a homeless veteran of the Iraq war. His name was Jay. Why he was homeless I still am not entirely sure.
I asked him why he did not move back with his parents. He was a bit reluctant with his reply. I asked if they were divorced. He admitted with a sound that was hardly audible but the pain that he conveyed was clear. Then he told me that they lived in Pennsylvania, that he was a divorced father of three girls whom he loved dearly. He also told me he was bipolar and about his other health issues, and was taking methadone for pain prescribed by the VA hospital.
I asked him if he was Catholic since he was camped out under a display window in front of the office of the Archdiocese showing a Nativity Scene. His answer was no but that he was spiritual, that there was one God with many names for different cultures, including Allah, and they are all about being good. He told me many other things while I was freezing in my workout shorts.
One of the things he said was that he knew about the time before he was born. He also said that Original Sin existed before anyone was born, that Free Will was inherent in the spirit form before birth, and that as soon as the spirit chose freely to leave God to be born, sin was committed, and then there was the flesh and "everything goes." And he laughed.
I grinned. Then I told him that I, too, knew about the time before my birth, although our analysis of what came after was different. I did not expand on it too much because I was ready to leave.
Then he said, "You were, before you were, before you were." That was so cryptic that it took me some time to decipher after I got home. I would have to ask him I was right if I see him next time.
He wanted to meet up again. I told him where and when he could find me on Sunday. It would be at Mass.
He is in my mind an "angel incarnate" to do the work of God [1] in this darkening, God-irrelevant world even though he now has a few issues that need to resolved before he takes his next steps. I believe that they will be, and that his current station in life is preparing him well for the challenges ahead.
[1] At one point, he indicated that he wanted to protect children. With his success in shielding them from Satan's influence, those in the business of saving adult souls would have less work to do and more time for fun, wholesome fun.
I asked him why he did not move back with his parents. He was a bit reluctant with his reply. I asked if they were divorced. He admitted with a sound that was hardly audible but the pain that he conveyed was clear. Then he told me that they lived in Pennsylvania, that he was a divorced father of three girls whom he loved dearly. He also told me he was bipolar and about his other health issues, and was taking methadone for pain prescribed by the VA hospital.
I asked him if he was Catholic since he was camped out under a display window in front of the office of the Archdiocese showing a Nativity Scene. His answer was no but that he was spiritual, that there was one God with many names for different cultures, including Allah, and they are all about being good. He told me many other things while I was freezing in my workout shorts.
One of the things he said was that he knew about the time before he was born. He also said that Original Sin existed before anyone was born, that Free Will was inherent in the spirit form before birth, and that as soon as the spirit chose freely to leave God to be born, sin was committed, and then there was the flesh and "everything goes." And he laughed.
I grinned. Then I told him that I, too, knew about the time before my birth, although our analysis of what came after was different. I did not expand on it too much because I was ready to leave.
Then he said, "You were, before you were, before you were." That was so cryptic that it took me some time to decipher after I got home. I would have to ask him I was right if I see him next time.
He wanted to meet up again. I told him where and when he could find me on Sunday. It would be at Mass.
He is in my mind an "angel incarnate" to do the work of God [1] in this darkening, God-irrelevant world even though he now has a few issues that need to resolved before he takes his next steps. I believe that they will be, and that his current station in life is preparing him well for the challenges ahead.
[1] At one point, he indicated that he wanted to protect children. With his success in shielding them from Satan's influence, those in the business of saving adult souls would have less work to do and more time for fun, wholesome fun.
Saintliness Captured
The innocence and kindness of saintliness can be seen in the angelic face below [1]:
Who is giving a blessing to whom? In my mind, only one answer is correct. The boy is blessing the pope who needs all the blessings he can get. His kind eyes gazing at the pope and his gentle and caring hand holding the pope's reassures the pope that God is very real and is with him (the boy but not the pope) and the pope, I imagine, knows that keenly. There is nothing the pope can do but adore the child, as he should.
This photograph by Paul Haring is as classic as any painting by any of the grand masters. If it were a painting, it could very well be part of the permanent collection of one the world's most well-known museums.
[1] This is a Catholic News Service ("CNS") photograph by Paul Haring. This photograph was taken on December 14, 2014, at Saint Joseph Parish in Rome, Italy (see page 8 at http://www.catholic-sf.org/files/digital_paper_201412162555.pdf)
A close-up:
This photograph by Paul Haring is as classic as any painting by any of the grand masters. If it were a painting, it could very well be part of the permanent collection of one the world's most well-known museums.
[1] This is a Catholic News Service ("CNS") photograph by Paul Haring. This photograph was taken on December 14, 2014, at Saint Joseph Parish in Rome, Italy (see page 8 at http://www.catholic-sf.org/files/digital_paper_201412162555.pdf)
Saturday, December 27, 2014
The Conversion Of Souls
Those who have the gift of faith must reach out and convert the non-believers, one soul at a time, as impossible as the task is, is not one that can be set aside, hoping that someone else will do it because no one else will, or that somehow non-believers would themselves awaken to the Truth from their hypnotic state of denial because that will not happen, not without Divine intervention, and Divine intervention can only happen when one's heart is open to God freely, willingly and lovingly, but non-believers have exercised their Free Will to close themselves off to God, and it is up to God's messengers of the world, the angels incarnate, to give sight to the spiritually blind and hearing to the spiritually deaf.
It is important, although not enough to just "preach to the choir," to those who already attend Mass and listen to the sermons regularly, to keep them vigilant and safe from the influence of Satan.
It is also important, that the religious who exist within an organizational structure, to realize the limits of the structure which necessarily demands administrative time, time that could otherwise be spent in prayer and in the conversion of souls.
The more complex the structure, the more people would be necessary to uphold it, and therefore the more political the entity, causing the focus to shift away from the spiritual to the carnal aspects of existence dominated by the sins of egoism and pride which diminish the importance of God and neutralizes the meaning of Whose Son Who came to the world in humility to sacrifice Himself for the salvation of souls, and perverting the intended purity of such a structure by stripping away its holiness, leaving it to become yet another vapid, self-serving and self-perpetuating secular institution with God in the periphery, on the lips but not in the heart, and that is the Vatican today.
A new group of people, the angels incarnate of the world, will need to arise from obscurity, and rise to the Light from which they came, to illuminate the darkness and speak the Truth to the people of the world.
It is important, although not enough to just "preach to the choir," to those who already attend Mass and listen to the sermons regularly, to keep them vigilant and safe from the influence of Satan.
It is also important, that the religious who exist within an organizational structure, to realize the limits of the structure which necessarily demands administrative time, time that could otherwise be spent in prayer and in the conversion of souls.
The more complex the structure, the more people would be necessary to uphold it, and therefore the more political the entity, causing the focus to shift away from the spiritual to the carnal aspects of existence dominated by the sins of egoism and pride which diminish the importance of God and neutralizes the meaning of Whose Son Who came to the world in humility to sacrifice Himself for the salvation of souls, and perverting the intended purity of such a structure by stripping away its holiness, leaving it to become yet another vapid, self-serving and self-perpetuating secular institution with God in the periphery, on the lips but not in the heart, and that is the Vatican today.
A new group of people, the angels incarnate of the world, will need to arise from obscurity, and rise to the Light from which they came, to illuminate the darkness and speak the Truth to the people of the world.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Christmas Day Thoughts - 2014
Throughout this blog, a presumption has been made that the birth of Christ falls on December 25 when the calender changed from B.C. (before Christ) to A.D. (Anno Domine) [1]. Whether Jesus was actually born on December 25 at midnight between B.C. and A.D. is uncertain, but interest generated by the Star of Bethlehem among astronomers is evident [2].
This entry is not about science but rather a chronology of miracles. Readers are urged to add to or subtract from the miracle count surrounding the birth of Jesus starting with The Immaculate Conception:
1. The Immaculate Conception. [3], [4], [5]
2. The Annunciation. [6]
3. An angel appeared to Joseph. [7], [8]
4. Angels appeared to the shepherds. [9]
5. The Magi and the Star of Bethlehem. [10]
6. An angel appeared to Joseph a second time. [11]
Miracles are continuing to take place, even in the midst of great suffering. They are as invisible as the gifts of life and Free Will for those who choose not to acknowledge them.
Have a Blessed Christmas!
[1] http://historymedren.about.com/od/aterms/g/ad.htm
[2] http://epistle.us/articles/star.html
[3] http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/lourdes.htm
[4] http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/f/Imm_Concept_FAQ.htm
[5] http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/marian/scotus&immac.htm
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A26-56&version=NIV;NASB;ESV;NKJV;DRA
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201:18-25
[8] http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a3p2.htm
[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A2-21&version=NIV
[10] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202:1-12
[11] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2%3A13-23&version=NIV
This entry is not about science but rather a chronology of miracles. Readers are urged to add to or subtract from the miracle count surrounding the birth of Jesus starting with The Immaculate Conception:
1. The Immaculate Conception. [3], [4], [5]
2. The Annunciation. [6]
3. An angel appeared to Joseph. [7], [8]
4. Angels appeared to the shepherds. [9]
5. The Magi and the Star of Bethlehem. [10]
6. An angel appeared to Joseph a second time. [11]
Miracles are continuing to take place, even in the midst of great suffering. They are as invisible as the gifts of life and Free Will for those who choose not to acknowledge them.
Have a Blessed Christmas!
[1] http://historymedren.about.com/od/aterms/g/ad.htm
[2] http://epistle.us/articles/star.html
[3] http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/lourdes.htm
[4] http://catholicism.about.com/od/beliefsteachings/f/Imm_Concept_FAQ.htm
[5] http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/marian/scotus&immac.htm
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+1%3A26-56&version=NIV;NASB;ESV;NKJV;DRA
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%201:18-25
[8] http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a3p2.htm
[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A2-21&version=NIV
[10] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202:1-12
[11] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+2%3A13-23&version=NIV
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
My Blog's Refrain
I would like the following to be this blog's refrain:
[1] What was given to all of us on Christmas Day was the Son of God. What humanity has made of this Gift has been abominable.
[2] Whether the imagination can be completed is God's call.
What I am is God's gift to me;
what I make of it is my gift back to God. [1]
what I make of it is my gift back to God. [1]
The refrain could be one of the cornerstones of God's universal Church, as restored, alluded to in my last entry. A restored church is still being imagined [2] and will be the antithesis of the current Vatican, a religious organization that has lost all credibility.
[1] What was given to all of us on Christmas Day was the Son of God. What humanity has made of this Gift has been abominable.
[2] Whether the imagination can be completed is God's call.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
The Darkening Skies
My last entry ended with this question: "Christmas will be here in two days. What do people have on their minds?"
Imagine if people of the world are preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ 2,014 years ago in earnest, without guise, by loving God and loving their neighbors, then nothing on their minds would cause fear or anxiety, or lead to an obsession with doing Satan's work that destroys the family, the Church and one another [1], and people can exist in peace.
The way things are going, the world is going to be enveloped by total darkness and those who continue to do the work of Satan will eventually never again see the light. Even as the skies are beginning to be blackened, a new light will be forming in the midst of blackness. This bright light will shine forth from the faces and smiles of all the people, regardless of religion or race, who are willing to return to Christ and His simple ways that lead to the Truth.
Simplicity is straightforward but difficult and painful to achieve. Its success will require discipline, determination and patience, honest and apolitical leadership, purity of heart and love of God. A single leader, or many leaders in various nations, cannot accomplish this, but many, many small groups of twos and threes that will roam, and spread, throughout the world can. Together, they will pierce holes through the pitch black forces of Evil with nothing more than basic goodness.
Basic goodness requires the people in these small groups to first reform their own bodies and transform them into individual temples of God. That means their bodies shall not be desecrated by the abuse of food [2], alcohol and drugs (overeating, over drinking and over medicating) and shall be preserved through a regiment of exercises and proper rest. Simultaneously, they shall reform their minds and transform them into unique reservoirs of the Truth through daily prayers with love (prayers must always be prayed with undiluted love). Then they shall become themselves examples of God's gift, having realized the potential and the splendor of life at its very core. And they shall take the vow of celibacy and adhere to it.
This shall be the signature image of each and every small group of people who will spread not only the word of God but will live the life of Christ and His disciples. Together, they will be a diverse nation of priests, replacing the Jews who had failed to deliver to the world a kingdom of priests [3]. These groups of Gentiles and converted Jews will succeed. They cannot, and must not fail. For them to fail is for Satan to win. Satan will not win again. These Gentiles and converted Jews will not betray the Son of God because they love God. Because they love God, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the angels of Heaven will be with them and guide them along the way.
[1] There is much evidence to show the disintegration of the family, the dismantling of the Catholic Church, growing unrest in many nations and the beginnings of another world war. The daily events, political, military and economic, that are unfolding tell the story and it would be too voluminous to cite them all here.
[2] Food shall not be contaminated by any genetic modification and shall be fertilized naturally.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2019:6
Imagine if people of the world are preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ 2,014 years ago in earnest, without guise, by loving God and loving their neighbors, then nothing on their minds would cause fear or anxiety, or lead to an obsession with doing Satan's work that destroys the family, the Church and one another [1], and people can exist in peace.
The way things are going, the world is going to be enveloped by total darkness and those who continue to do the work of Satan will eventually never again see the light. Even as the skies are beginning to be blackened, a new light will be forming in the midst of blackness. This bright light will shine forth from the faces and smiles of all the people, regardless of religion or race, who are willing to return to Christ and His simple ways that lead to the Truth.
Simplicity is straightforward but difficult and painful to achieve. Its success will require discipline, determination and patience, honest and apolitical leadership, purity of heart and love of God. A single leader, or many leaders in various nations, cannot accomplish this, but many, many small groups of twos and threes that will roam, and spread, throughout the world can. Together, they will pierce holes through the pitch black forces of Evil with nothing more than basic goodness.
Basic goodness requires the people in these small groups to first reform their own bodies and transform them into individual temples of God. That means their bodies shall not be desecrated by the abuse of food [2], alcohol and drugs (overeating, over drinking and over medicating) and shall be preserved through a regiment of exercises and proper rest. Simultaneously, they shall reform their minds and transform them into unique reservoirs of the Truth through daily prayers with love (prayers must always be prayed with undiluted love). Then they shall become themselves examples of God's gift, having realized the potential and the splendor of life at its very core. And they shall take the vow of celibacy and adhere to it.
This shall be the signature image of each and every small group of people who will spread not only the word of God but will live the life of Christ and His disciples. Together, they will be a diverse nation of priests, replacing the Jews who had failed to deliver to the world a kingdom of priests [3]. These groups of Gentiles and converted Jews will succeed. They cannot, and must not fail. For them to fail is for Satan to win. Satan will not win again. These Gentiles and converted Jews will not betray the Son of God because they love God. Because they love God, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the angels of Heaven will be with them and guide them along the way.
[1] There is much evidence to show the disintegration of the family, the dismantling of the Catholic Church, growing unrest in many nations and the beginnings of another world war. The daily events, political, military and economic, that are unfolding tell the story and it would be too voluminous to cite them all here.
[2] Food shall not be contaminated by any genetic modification and shall be fertilized naturally.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2019:6
A Nativity Scene
After Mass on Sunday I viewed the Nativity Scene at the front of the church. There was a donkey, a cow and some lambs. Mary and Joseph were kneeling on either side of the manger. In front of them were the three wise men [1]. The only figurine missing was infant Jesus. What happened? Did someone take the baby? Then it dawned on me that Christmas was still four days away. Jesus was not yet born. So what if the wise men got there early in this Nativity Scene? When one has an appointment with Christ, showing up late is not recommended.
The farm animals that were around the stable were docile and ready to serve. No predator figurines like wolves or lions and no vermin figurines like rats or mice were present. I recall a sermon equating the stable animals to Jesus Who was born to serve, and like the lambs, perhaps the cow too, would one day be sacrificed for the sake of man. That would come later. Now, the Christian world is anticipating the arrival of December 25th, the day that Christ was born.
In the secular world, however, "Christmas" can apparently come early. One newscaster announced that "Christmas" came early for certain folks because they won some kind of lotto. The station showed how happy they were to receive a check. Ah! How money can buy happiness!
Happiness, so elusive and transient, is a feeling people will go far and pay dearly for. And Jesus Who wants no money and has no cash to give can give the repented sinner true and lasting joy, yet many simply do not care.
Christmas will be here in two days. What do people have on their minds?
[1] 12/23/14 5:42 PM: On further examination, those figurines were shepherds. Beside one of them was some kind of sheep dog. The three wise men that I missed were actually on the right side of the Holy Doors "progressing" ever so deliberately toward the Nativity Scene situated on the left side of the Holy Doors. The Magi, being ever so wise, would never be late to see Jesus on that momentous silent and holy night of His humble birth.
The farm animals that were around the stable were docile and ready to serve. No predator figurines like wolves or lions and no vermin figurines like rats or mice were present. I recall a sermon equating the stable animals to Jesus Who was born to serve, and like the lambs, perhaps the cow too, would one day be sacrificed for the sake of man. That would come later. Now, the Christian world is anticipating the arrival of December 25th, the day that Christ was born.
In the secular world, however, "Christmas" can apparently come early. One newscaster announced that "Christmas" came early for certain folks because they won some kind of lotto. The station showed how happy they were to receive a check. Ah! How money can buy happiness!
Happiness, so elusive and transient, is a feeling people will go far and pay dearly for. And Jesus Who wants no money and has no cash to give can give the repented sinner true and lasting joy, yet many simply do not care.
Christmas will be here in two days. What do people have on their minds?
[1] 12/23/14 5:42 PM: On further examination, those figurines were shepherds. Beside one of them was some kind of sheep dog. The three wise men that I missed were actually on the right side of the Holy Doors "progressing" ever so deliberately toward the Nativity Scene situated on the left side of the Holy Doors. The Magi, being ever so wise, would never be late to see Jesus on that momentous silent and holy night of His humble birth.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Thoughts On Christmas Gifting
The first three gifts of Christmas were from the three wise men. These gifts were for the newborn, not just any newborn, but the Son of God.
Fast forward 2,014 years and look at what gifts are given and to whom they are given. Jesus is no longer here in the flesh so there is no need to shop for Him, but His Church is here, those who need to be saved are here, the orphans are here, the elderly, sick and lonely are here and what have I done this Christmas season? Embarrassed to say, very little. Why so little? I have my excuses. First, I am not a saint by any stretch of the imagination and far from perfect; I prefer more and more the life of a semi-recluse; I do not find material things to be an effective and lasting substitute for respect and love; and I dislike shopping, much more now than in the past.
In my opinion, today's Christmas gifting is not about giving of oneself to the Savior but about merchandising, shopping, materialism, consumerism, aggregate spending, economic indicators, feasting, drinking, partying, and most of all, receiving. The day after, one common question is what did you get for Christmas? And probably nobody expects or wants a note saying "in lieu of a Christmas gift, I have donated on your behalf funds to aid the Syrian refugees."
Generally people do not want to think of the refugees and orphans of war; they much rather complain about the gift they received, whine about the gift they wanted but did not get, talk about exchanging, returning and refunding and gripe about the traffic and the shopping crowds.
Nor do they want to think about Jesus. What about telling others how wonderful the Christmas Mass was, as if that was part of their Christmas Day, as if giving to Christ a bit of time to honor His birth is too much to ask for on their day off? Would they even have a holiday without Jesus being Who He is and without Him being born?
So Christmas is now a secular holiday, a day of expectation of gifts, not just any bunch of gifts, but a mix of the right gifts.
In my opinion, today's Christmas gifting is not about giving of oneself to the Savior but about merchandising, shopping, materialism, consumerism, aggregate spending, economic indicators, feasting, drinking, partying, and most of all, receiving. The day after, one common question is what did you get for Christmas? And probably nobody expects or wants a note saying "in lieu of a Christmas gift, I have donated on your behalf funds to aid the Syrian refugees."
Generally people do not want to think of the refugees and orphans of war; they much rather complain about the gift they received, whine about the gift they wanted but did not get, talk about exchanging, returning and refunding and gripe about the traffic and the shopping crowds.
Nor do they want to think about Jesus. What about telling others how wonderful the Christmas Mass was, as if that was part of their Christmas Day, as if giving to Christ a bit of time to honor His birth is too much to ask for on their day off? Would they even have a holiday without Jesus being Who He is and without Him being born?
So Christmas is now a secular holiday, a day of expectation of gifts, not just any bunch of gifts, but a mix of the right gifts.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Is The Antichrist Wrong?
Words describing humans from the Antichrist's perspective were in my last post: "these self-righteous, selfish, stupid and sinful humans will finally get what they deserve: an eternity in Hell." If that is what the Antichrist think of humans, could It be right?
Perhaps the question ought to be worded this way: How could It be wrong? It was once an angel and angels are never wrong.
If humans are so sinful and undeserving, why does God love them so much that Christ came down from Heaven as the Son of God so that they may be saved?
The answer is that man was made in the image of God and as such, God has hope that man may become like Christ just as man has hope to become perfect like his Creator. This hope in many is sometimes extinguished because they have sold their souls to the Devil--extinguished, but not extinct. Just like an extinguished candle can be relit, hope can arise from hopelessness.
It is man's willingness and ability to regret, confess and repent his wrongs that makes tears that cleanse his soul and returns to it its interior peace, that turns God's anger into compassion, that tips the Scales of Justice toward forgiveness, that rekindles God's unconditional love, that opens the Gates of Heaven bringing fulfillment by the Holy Spirit, that allows man to see the Sacred Heart of Jesus brought by His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Who will lead him to Heaven.
Perhaps the question ought to be worded this way: How could It be wrong? It was once an angel and angels are never wrong.
If humans are so sinful and undeserving, why does God love them so much that Christ came down from Heaven as the Son of God so that they may be saved?
The answer is that man was made in the image of God and as such, God has hope that man may become like Christ just as man has hope to become perfect like his Creator. This hope in many is sometimes extinguished because they have sold their souls to the Devil--extinguished, but not extinct. Just like an extinguished candle can be relit, hope can arise from hopelessness.
It is man's willingness and ability to regret, confess and repent his wrongs that makes tears that cleanse his soul and returns to it its interior peace, that turns God's anger into compassion, that tips the Scales of Justice toward forgiveness, that rekindles God's unconditional love, that opens the Gates of Heaven bringing fulfillment by the Holy Spirit, that allows man to see the Sacred Heart of Jesus brought by His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Who will lead him to Heaven.
Modus Operandi Of The Antichrist
All kinds of speculations on the Antichrist abound the internet. Let me add another.
In my last post, I used the name "The Unholy Trio." Here I define It to represent a three-headed monster from Hell [1] that can appear "single-headedly" to different segments of people in ways that appeal to those particular segments. It is the one "who articulates [and] draw[s] the attention of both male and female equally regardless of race," repeating words in footnote 4 of the same post. It will be neither flamboyant nor loud, It will not "tweet" but will accomplish Its goals surreptitiously by means of Its superior intellect (It was a former angel after all), devilish charm and good looks.
One of Its ability is to be apolitical and unite people with differing political outlooks under the label of pride--national pride in countries that are diverse, ethnic and cultural pride in countries that are homogeneous, religious pride in theocracies, economic pride in regions that are affluent, and so on.
Thus, from one prideful population fully united under Its plan It will go to another prideful population to infiltrate and unite it. It might even have the multilocation ability to be at different locations at the same time to do Its work. When It is done, nations will rise against nations while It rests and enjoys the bloody spectacle of death and destruction, at the same time reveling in the thought that all these self-righteous, selfish, stupid and sinful humans will finally get what they deserve: an eternity in Hell with no fulfillment, no peace, no joy and no hope [2].
[1] The first head is the original head of a most beautiful angel in Heaven, the second head is the fallen Lucifer, the deformed head of Satan and the third head is the invisible force of pure Evil transforming the first two with disguises to fool those distant from God.
[2] Some people may already be experiencing Hell on earth, even though they may deny it, by equating material possessions with fulfillment, mundanity and spiritlessness of secularism with interior peace, superficial celebrations (when a favorite sport teams wins, when a nemesis is subject to derision and humiliation, when gorging on gourmet food at a restaurant buffet and getting inebriated for example) with true joy and greed of all kinds with hope to be with Christ.
In my last post, I used the name "The Unholy Trio." Here I define It to represent a three-headed monster from Hell [1] that can appear "single-headedly" to different segments of people in ways that appeal to those particular segments. It is the one "who articulates [and] draw[s] the attention of both male and female equally regardless of race," repeating words in footnote 4 of the same post. It will be neither flamboyant nor loud, It will not "tweet" but will accomplish Its goals surreptitiously by means of Its superior intellect (It was a former angel after all), devilish charm and good looks.
One of Its ability is to be apolitical and unite people with differing political outlooks under the label of pride--national pride in countries that are diverse, ethnic and cultural pride in countries that are homogeneous, religious pride in theocracies, economic pride in regions that are affluent, and so on.
Thus, from one prideful population fully united under Its plan It will go to another prideful population to infiltrate and unite it. It might even have the multilocation ability to be at different locations at the same time to do Its work. When It is done, nations will rise against nations while It rests and enjoys the bloody spectacle of death and destruction, at the same time reveling in the thought that all these self-righteous, selfish, stupid and sinful humans will finally get what they deserve: an eternity in Hell with no fulfillment, no peace, no joy and no hope [2].
[1] The first head is the original head of a most beautiful angel in Heaven, the second head is the fallen Lucifer, the deformed head of Satan and the third head is the invisible force of pure Evil transforming the first two with disguises to fool those distant from God.
[2] Some people may already be experiencing Hell on earth, even though they may deny it, by equating material possessions with fulfillment, mundanity and spiritlessness of secularism with interior peace, superficial celebrations (when a favorite sport teams wins, when a nemesis is subject to derision and humiliation, when gorging on gourmet food at a restaurant buffet and getting inebriated for example) with true joy and greed of all kinds with hope to be with Christ.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
The Invisible Hell
Advent was mentioned in the 12/11/14 post: "[T]his is the season of Advent, a season that looks toward the Second Coming of Christ, a season of penance to prepare for the Second Coming." Before Christ comes again, the world will first meet the Antichrist [1], [2].
Antichrist was mentioned in the last post: "The most powerful forces of evil are forces that deceive people into believing that they are the forces of good. This is the beginning of the making of the Antichrist." These deceiving forces are gaining in power in recent decades [3].
While penance is necessary to prepare for the Second Coming, being armed is essential for confrontations with the Enemy. In other words, doing penance is a defense against the possibility of eternal Hell on Judgment Day whereas battling forces of deceit is an offense that drives away dark forces and prevents oneself from being presently drawn into the vortex of deceit that spins the Truth endlessly toward the lightless pit of Hell.
One can do penance by confessing to a priest. To combat evil forces, one must pray to God for help because the sinful man himself cannot defeat Satan. Those who think that they are self-sufficient without the need for God are already defeated. Hypocrites who pay lip-service to God are no different from the betrayers and crucifiers of Christ and are well on their way to Hell. The self-righteous ones, religious and secular, who live in denial of the world's truths and God's Truth and thus cannot see their own faults are free-falling toward the invisible Hell on earth ruled by the Antichrist. [4]
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%202:18-27
[2] https://bible.org/seriespage/major-events-preceding-second-coming-christ
[3] There is no need to identify them. Either one already knows them and if one does not, that means Satan's influence had already taken hold. Such a person will continue to remain deceived unless God intervenes.
[4] The Antichrist, I imagine, is at the beginning not a single individual, but a growing tsunami of evil forces, represented by evil-infected powerful people in the world, simultaneously and in succession, that are working to transform the God-given positive effusive energy that into a negative fear-driven pull of equal intensity. After sucking all the transformable energy of God into an invisible black hole from which it cannot escape, a trio of forces will emerge from it--The Unholy Trio--to mirror The Holy Trinity. This Unholy Trio will be the only superstars of the world. They will promise the people "heaven on earth." One of them who articulates will draw the attention of both male and female equally regardless of race not because It is Christ, but because It is the Antichrist. This creature will never say that It is Christ (It enjoys being the all-powerful Antichrist and is proud of it) although everyone will assume that It is Christ except for those with unyielding faith in God,
Antichrist was mentioned in the last post: "The most powerful forces of evil are forces that deceive people into believing that they are the forces of good. This is the beginning of the making of the Antichrist." These deceiving forces are gaining in power in recent decades [3].
While penance is necessary to prepare for the Second Coming, being armed is essential for confrontations with the Enemy. In other words, doing penance is a defense against the possibility of eternal Hell on Judgment Day whereas battling forces of deceit is an offense that drives away dark forces and prevents oneself from being presently drawn into the vortex of deceit that spins the Truth endlessly toward the lightless pit of Hell.
One can do penance by confessing to a priest. To combat evil forces, one must pray to God for help because the sinful man himself cannot defeat Satan. Those who think that they are self-sufficient without the need for God are already defeated. Hypocrites who pay lip-service to God are no different from the betrayers and crucifiers of Christ and are well on their way to Hell. The self-righteous ones, religious and secular, who live in denial of the world's truths and God's Truth and thus cannot see their own faults are free-falling toward the invisible Hell on earth ruled by the Antichrist. [4]
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%202:18-27
[2] https://bible.org/seriespage/major-events-preceding-second-coming-christ
[3] There is no need to identify them. Either one already knows them and if one does not, that means Satan's influence had already taken hold. Such a person will continue to remain deceived unless God intervenes.
[4] The Antichrist, I imagine, is at the beginning not a single individual, but a growing tsunami of evil forces, represented by evil-infected powerful people in the world, simultaneously and in succession, that are working to transform the God-given positive effusive energy that into a negative fear-driven pull of equal intensity. After sucking all the transformable energy of God into an invisible black hole from which it cannot escape, a trio of forces will emerge from it--The Unholy Trio--to mirror The Holy Trinity. This Unholy Trio will be the only superstars of the world. They will promise the people "heaven on earth." One of them who articulates will draw the attention of both male and female equally regardless of race not because It is Christ, but because It is the Antichrist. This creature will never say that It is Christ (It enjoys being the all-powerful Antichrist and is proud of it) although everyone will assume that It is Christ except for those with unyielding faith in God,
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Heaven's Government
If Heaven has the equivalent of a government, it is not a democracy--it is a dictatorship, a benevolent dictatorship. Thus, the best leader the world can have is a benevolent dictator, but the world will never have a benevolent dictator because the majority of people are hungry for power and money, and they will do virtually anything to achieve what they want, however unethical, immoral, corrupt or ruthless, and will eliminate such a leader, should one exists. One did. His name was Jesus.
Today, many lawmakers and law enforcers think that they are right, not because they are doing the right things in Jesus' name but because they are self-righteous and doing the wrong things unknowingly in Satan's name. There is no direct proof to substantiate the assertion. Even if there is, whoever tries to assemble a dossier to expose the truth will be silenced, one way or another, by Satan's minions. Even if the truth is known, people will continue to lie their way around and deny it. That happens daily when anyone with any power opens his or her mouth.
To have Heaven on earth, the worldly truths have to coincide with the Eternal Truth which comes from God. The Eternal Truth does not waiver and is eternal. It is patient and waits for acceptance. No government is capable to rule in accordance with the Truth because every government has been infiltrated by the forces of evil. The most powerful forces of evil are forces that deceive people into believing that they are the forces of good. This is the beginning of the making of the Antichrist.
The Antichrist will make people believe he can turn earth into heaven when it is Hell that he wants the earth to become. The government of Hell is a failed democracy, everyone is constantly bickering, with everyone blaming everyone else for his self-righteous, self-serving, deceivingly altruistic agenda gone wrong while suffering in eternity. In short, no soul is ever at peace. Every soul is bitter, always trying to find a way out of and denying the Truth, even in Hell. In Hell, these Truth-denying souls belong.
Today, many lawmakers and law enforcers think that they are right, not because they are doing the right things in Jesus' name but because they are self-righteous and doing the wrong things unknowingly in Satan's name. There is no direct proof to substantiate the assertion. Even if there is, whoever tries to assemble a dossier to expose the truth will be silenced, one way or another, by Satan's minions. Even if the truth is known, people will continue to lie their way around and deny it. That happens daily when anyone with any power opens his or her mouth.
To have Heaven on earth, the worldly truths have to coincide with the Eternal Truth which comes from God. The Eternal Truth does not waiver and is eternal. It is patient and waits for acceptance. No government is capable to rule in accordance with the Truth because every government has been infiltrated by the forces of evil. The most powerful forces of evil are forces that deceive people into believing that they are the forces of good. This is the beginning of the making of the Antichrist.
The Antichrist will make people believe he can turn earth into heaven when it is Hell that he wants the earth to become. The government of Hell is a failed democracy, everyone is constantly bickering, with everyone blaming everyone else for his self-righteous, self-serving, deceivingly altruistic agenda gone wrong while suffering in eternity. In short, no soul is ever at peace. Every soul is bitter, always trying to find a way out of and denying the Truth, even in Hell. In Hell, these Truth-denying souls belong.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Hong Kong Protest Ends (For Now)
The pro-democracy occupation in Hong Kong is over [1]. Attached is a photo from Google Images showing Joshua Wong (center) and Victor Shum (left), two of the original faces and voices that led the protests in Hong Kong (zoom in to view or enlarge) :
Do they have angelic looks and teeth? Would one's soul be delighted to see them as greeters that show the way to eternity?
Had the demonstrators acted like Christ? Would Christ in a largely Godless society resort to civil disobedience in order to impose His will on others? Is civil disobedience an indication of humility?
Were the demonstrators being treated like Christ was, starved, scourged, tortured and crucified by their government? Were they denied the right to worship? The answers are no, and no. In fact, Hong Kong has quite a few Catholic churches [2].
One wonders if any of the demonstrators is Catholic and follows the teachings of Christ. Assuming that the demonstrators had prevailed and they had been given the democracy they desired, does anyone believe they can usher in an utopian society? What would they do with the dissenters? (These demonstrators were in fact in the minority since a majority of people in Hong Kong disagreed with them.) Why do the demonstrators think that their Godless government is superior to any other Godless government [3]?
Without God at the center in a person's life, within a family unit and in a society, Satan will enter and create havoc. Satan does not want any side to win. It just wants everyone to be against everyone so they can destroy each other and go to Hell.
[1] http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1662891/hong-kong-police-set-dismantle-occupys-last-remaining-pro-democracy
[2] http://www.catholic.org.hk/v2/en/a06church.html
[3] Godless governments include those hypocritical governments around the world that uses the name "God" and calls on God but are in fact Godless.
Had the demonstrators acted like Christ? Would Christ in a largely Godless society resort to civil disobedience in order to impose His will on others? Is civil disobedience an indication of humility?
Were the demonstrators being treated like Christ was, starved, scourged, tortured and crucified by their government? Were they denied the right to worship? The answers are no, and no. In fact, Hong Kong has quite a few Catholic churches [2].
One wonders if any of the demonstrators is Catholic and follows the teachings of Christ. Assuming that the demonstrators had prevailed and they had been given the democracy they desired, does anyone believe they can usher in an utopian society? What would they do with the dissenters? (These demonstrators were in fact in the minority since a majority of people in Hong Kong disagreed with them.) Why do the demonstrators think that their Godless government is superior to any other Godless government [3]?
Without God at the center in a person's life, within a family unit and in a society, Satan will enter and create havoc. Satan does not want any side to win. It just wants everyone to be against everyone so they can destroy each other and go to Hell.
[1] http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1662891/hong-kong-police-set-dismantle-occupys-last-remaining-pro-democracy
[2] http://www.catholic.org.hk/v2/en/a06church.html
[3] Godless governments include those hypocritical governments around the world that uses the name "God" and calls on God but are in fact Godless.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Alone For "The Holidays"
Around the world the sights and sounds of Christmas can be seen and heard as people busy themselves with shopping and Christmas parties. Then there are those who are alone [1] walking among the shoppers, the revelers, the well-dressed party crowd, families on vacation and groups of friends. As one who is comfortable on my own, I find weaving in and out of the "partiers" far more often and more fun than being at a party. However, I am keenly aware of those who feel left out at this time of year. This entry is for them.
I had gone through a period of not fitting in, of being left behind, left out and left alone, a painfully depressing time. I focused on myself, pitied myself and thought only of myself: it was me, me and me. That self-centeredness deepened and lengthened my depression. The Rx is not a drug prescription but a prayer reflection on the true meaning of Christmas, a sharp contrast to the secularized and commercialized version of the "holiday season."
As I have recently learned at Mass, this is the season of Advent, a season that looks toward the Second Coming of Christ, a season of penance to prepare for the Second Coming. Thus, this is not supposed to be a time for shopping, gifting, drinking and feasting. When one internalizes the Advent season, then one who is alone no longer needs to feel lonely or depressed, for spending time away from the holiday sales, away from the gatherings where God is not invited and is unwanted is actually good for the soul, when one is no longer centered on oneself, on all kinds of consumption that feeds the ego and its self-image but on the firm belief that the One Who was born to the Blessed Virgin Mary on Christmas Day will again come to judge the living and the dead in light of the Truth from which nobody can hide or escape. Hopefully, God will take into consideration the time one has spent honoring God relative to the time spent pampering and pitying oneself and grant mercy before the final judgment.
Therefore, to those who are alone during Advent, Christmas and New Years, "the holiday season," feel good about having the luxury of time away from the hustle and bustle of a Godless consumerist society to spend with God, alone, to reconcile oneself to the Truth, to pray for forgiveness, and for guidance to choose and follow the path that leads to Christ, and ultimately to Heaven.
[1] One who is alone does not mean one is lonely, but those who are alone can at times have feelings of loneliness. Time spent in loneliness is a difficult time but those who experience loneliness while sharing a life with another tend to have a far more difficult time relative to that of a single person who experiences loneliness alone. To those who feel alone among others, go see God Who is waiting, Who is everywhere, Who will be The most wonderful companion, always.
I had gone through a period of not fitting in, of being left behind, left out and left alone, a painfully depressing time. I focused on myself, pitied myself and thought only of myself: it was me, me and me. That self-centeredness deepened and lengthened my depression. The Rx is not a drug prescription but a prayer reflection on the true meaning of Christmas, a sharp contrast to the secularized and commercialized version of the "holiday season."
As I have recently learned at Mass, this is the season of Advent, a season that looks toward the Second Coming of Christ, a season of penance to prepare for the Second Coming. Thus, this is not supposed to be a time for shopping, gifting, drinking and feasting. When one internalizes the Advent season, then one who is alone no longer needs to feel lonely or depressed, for spending time away from the holiday sales, away from the gatherings where God is not invited and is unwanted is actually good for the soul, when one is no longer centered on oneself, on all kinds of consumption that feeds the ego and its self-image but on the firm belief that the One Who was born to the Blessed Virgin Mary on Christmas Day will again come to judge the living and the dead in light of the Truth from which nobody can hide or escape. Hopefully, God will take into consideration the time one has spent honoring God relative to the time spent pampering and pitying oneself and grant mercy before the final judgment.
Therefore, to those who are alone during Advent, Christmas and New Years, "the holiday season," feel good about having the luxury of time away from the hustle and bustle of a Godless consumerist society to spend with God, alone, to reconcile oneself to the Truth, to pray for forgiveness, and for guidance to choose and follow the path that leads to Christ, and ultimately to Heaven.
[1] One who is alone does not mean one is lonely, but those who are alone can at times have feelings of loneliness. Time spent in loneliness is a difficult time but those who experience loneliness while sharing a life with another tend to have a far more difficult time relative to that of a single person who experiences loneliness alone. To those who feel alone among others, go see God Who is waiting, Who is everywhere, Who will be The most wonderful companion, always.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Third Gift Of God
Previous entries in this blog had identified the first two gifts of God, namely, the gift of flesh [1] followed by the gift of Free Will. The third is the gift of creativity [2].
[1] The gift of flesh is only possible when Free Will is exercised in accordance with the "thou shall not kill (abort)" commandment since abortion kills the chance for a spirit to experience incarnation outside of a mother's womb.
[2] God is the Supreme Creator. Man is created in the image of God. Therefore man is also able to create. For those who think that they cannot create but wish to, they should simply flip on the creative switch inside and turn up the intensity, but must guard with vigilance against the gift from being hijacked by evil. Sadly, good intentions are often thwarted. Gun powder is a good example: the concoction that was originally created for fireworks as a celebration had been weaponized to kill. See the history of gunpowder at http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/war/gunpowder.htm Humans are another: God intends for all people to be good but Satan has been able to tempt them successfully with apples of sin.
[1] The gift of flesh is only possible when Free Will is exercised in accordance with the "thou shall not kill (abort)" commandment since abortion kills the chance for a spirit to experience incarnation outside of a mother's womb.
[2] God is the Supreme Creator. Man is created in the image of God. Therefore man is also able to create. For those who think that they cannot create but wish to, they should simply flip on the creative switch inside and turn up the intensity, but must guard with vigilance against the gift from being hijacked by evil. Sadly, good intentions are often thwarted. Gun powder is a good example: the concoction that was originally created for fireworks as a celebration had been weaponized to kill. See the history of gunpowder at http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/war/gunpowder.htm Humans are another: God intends for all people to be good but Satan has been able to tempt them successfully with apples of sin.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Feast Of the Immaculate Conception - Monday, December 8, 2014
On Thursday, March 25, 1858, "[t]he vision [Bernadette Soubirous saw] finally revealed her name, but the wild rose bush, on which
she stood during the Apparitions, did not bloom. Bernadette recounted; 'She lifted up her eyes to heaven, joined her hands as though in prayer,
that were held out and open towards the ground and said to me: Que soy era Immaculada Concepciou (I am the Immaculate Conception) .' The young visionary left and, running all the way, repeated continuously
the words that she did not understand. These words troubled the brave
Parish Priest. Bernadette was ignorant of the fact that this theological
expression was assigned to the Blessed Virgin.Four years earlier, in
1854, Pope Pius IX declared this a truth of the Catholic Faith (a dogma)[.]" [1]
Every apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary that had been reported had been spectacular. Of the ones I know of, I like the apparition in Lourdes, France, the best because in a way, I was "called" to go there--not the actual Grotto but a local replica. That evening, St. Dominic's church was showing a film of the Grotto in Lourdes and Mass was celebrated afterward. Actual water from the Lourdes Grotto was brought to Mass during which everyone was invited to put his/her hand into the big bowl of Lourdes water. I was a bit tentative when it was my turn and the lady holding the bowl of water asked me to swirl my hand around in the water. I did just that and experienced something very unusual--a healing of sorts, but that could not be documented by extrinsic evidence. It would be something I could tell but it would never be believed by anyone.
Tonight [2] I went to pray the rosary in front of the replica. After praying the rosary, and after some spending some quiet time in thought and in prayer, there was a faint smell of lilac for a minute or so. I smelled that fragrance before at the same place because there was lilac on the side of the "grotto" but that was during the summer. It is now winter. I went around to the side (both sides) to see if there was any lilac in bloom. There was none. In fact, I did not see any lilac plant but to be absolutely objective, it was too dark for me to tell if the plants on the side were or were not lilac. What was certain was that those plants had no flowers, whatever species they were. I immediately got goosebumps. I again was wondering where the lilac fragrance came from, not unlike the kind of questioning I had when I saw the light show on Saturday, December 6, 2014, during the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in The Star of the Sea church's side chapel. If the smell of lilac was an acknowledgement of sorts, I am grateful, however undeserving, whatever its meaning [3].
[1] http://en.lourdes-france.org/deepen/bernadette-soubirous/the-apparitions
[2] It is now past midnight so by the time I publish this, it would technically be last night.
[3] A word of caution: Wherever God is near, Satan and those under Its influence are never far away--sometimes, the evil is so near that It is already inhabited within the self. That parasite can be challenging to recognize but it is important to recognize It and rid oneself of It. Seeing It is the first step. Devising a strategy to strengthen oneself and excise It is the next. Continuous execution of the strategy to eliminate It from one's entire being is the final step. This is not easy to do.
Every apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary that had been reported had been spectacular. Of the ones I know of, I like the apparition in Lourdes, France, the best because in a way, I was "called" to go there--not the actual Grotto but a local replica. That evening, St. Dominic's church was showing a film of the Grotto in Lourdes and Mass was celebrated afterward. Actual water from the Lourdes Grotto was brought to Mass during which everyone was invited to put his/her hand into the big bowl of Lourdes water. I was a bit tentative when it was my turn and the lady holding the bowl of water asked me to swirl my hand around in the water. I did just that and experienced something very unusual--a healing of sorts, but that could not be documented by extrinsic evidence. It would be something I could tell but it would never be believed by anyone.
Tonight [2] I went to pray the rosary in front of the replica. After praying the rosary, and after some spending some quiet time in thought and in prayer, there was a faint smell of lilac for a minute or so. I smelled that fragrance before at the same place because there was lilac on the side of the "grotto" but that was during the summer. It is now winter. I went around to the side (both sides) to see if there was any lilac in bloom. There was none. In fact, I did not see any lilac plant but to be absolutely objective, it was too dark for me to tell if the plants on the side were or were not lilac. What was certain was that those plants had no flowers, whatever species they were. I immediately got goosebumps. I again was wondering where the lilac fragrance came from, not unlike the kind of questioning I had when I saw the light show on Saturday, December 6, 2014, during the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in The Star of the Sea church's side chapel. If the smell of lilac was an acknowledgement of sorts, I am grateful, however undeserving, whatever its meaning [3].
[1] http://en.lourdes-france.org/deepen/bernadette-soubirous/the-apparitions
[2] It is now past midnight so by the time I publish this, it would technically be last night.
[3] A word of caution: Wherever God is near, Satan and those under Its influence are never far away--sometimes, the evil is so near that It is already inhabited within the self. That parasite can be challenging to recognize but it is important to recognize It and rid oneself of It. Seeing It is the first step. Devising a strategy to strengthen oneself and excise It is the next. Continuous execution of the strategy to eliminate It from one's entire being is the final step. This is not easy to do.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Adoration Of The Blessed Sacrament
Seeing a person kneeling before a monstrance with a Holy Communion inside almost looks like a still-life painting but my first experience tells me that the act of adoration is not static. Perhaps the words "adoration of the Blessed Sacrament" do not connote much activity. Perhaps those are not the best words to describe the time one is spending with Christ.
Spending time with the Lord is not a static event, nor is it a silent soliloquy. To begin, one must have faith in Christ. The next step in to believe that Christ is truly present, that He is right there, listening. Then a dialog begins: one prays from the heart, Christ listens and acknowledges [1].
[1] I spent time before the Blessed Sacrament this afternoon, my first time kneeling before a monstrance. I went into the small chapel half-heartedly, thinking that I would benefit from it just from "going through the motions" without really expecting anything, but then I had hoped that I would see some kind of sign that Christ was present. Of course, it was not realistic to expect it: it was a passing thought, a secret fantasy. From a past experience, I should know better: there are no secrets one can keep from Christ. I closed my eyes. I saw a noticeable darkness. I did not like it. I knew I was in a bit of trouble. I then reconciled myself to God. When I opened my eyes, I saw spots of colored light on the left side of the monstrance (I was kneeling on the left side of the monstrance). I looked back to see if anyone else saw it, and wondered if they were from the sunlight shining through a stained glass window in the back of the chapel. I turned back and looked again, the round colored spots of light were still present. I turned my head back a second time to see where the sunlight was coming in from -- it was not evident -- the sun was not shining in from that direction. I looked back and the colored lights were gone. Fine. Then I concluded it was physics but was not entirely convinced that it was. I thought again, this time not so secretively, and said to the Lord in my mind that if what I saw was some kind of sign, I would like to see that again. The second time the light was different. I saw very subtle, small rays of light, again only on the left side of the monstrance, on the purple cloth that served as the background behind the monstrance, varying from lighter purple to darker purple. I knew that this could not have been sunlight for there was no sunlight coming from the right side. The right side was a painted wall with no windows. I was still unconvinced. I thought that this time my eyes were playing tricks with me and with that thought, the light show disappeared. Finally, I thought that if Peter could deny Christ three times, I certainly could have a third try. Nothing happened for a while. Then I saw the monstrance casting a shadow on the purple cloth behind it. This time, the shadow fell to the right of the monstrance. This made scientific sense because I did see sunlight peek through the stained glass windows on the left side, causing the shadow to appear. It was a shadow like any other, no spots of color, no gradation of purple -- it was simply a dark shadow showing the intricacies of the monstrance on a purple cloth. It lasted for a little while longer than expected, considering the two previous light shows were both of shorter duration (actually the first light show lingered a bit longer than the second, maybe even longer than the last, considering I turned my head around twice -- how long it lasted I do not know). So what is my conclusion? If I was shown the presence of Christ, I am thankful. If I was fantasizing--I do not know why I would be in the first place--it was a fantasy I did not choreograph. Why was I not shown an even more fantastical light show the third time? I think because someone is upset that I had so little faith and wanted to point out how dumb I was not to know the difference between what is worldly and what is other-worldly. In order to show that the first two were other-worldly, the third one had to be worldly to show the contrast. For me, the contrast worked: I am convinced the the first two light shows were not rooted in physics.
Spending time with the Lord is not a static event, nor is it a silent soliloquy. To begin, one must have faith in Christ. The next step in to believe that Christ is truly present, that He is right there, listening. Then a dialog begins: one prays from the heart, Christ listens and acknowledges [1].
[1] I spent time before the Blessed Sacrament this afternoon, my first time kneeling before a monstrance. I went into the small chapel half-heartedly, thinking that I would benefit from it just from "going through the motions" without really expecting anything, but then I had hoped that I would see some kind of sign that Christ was present. Of course, it was not realistic to expect it: it was a passing thought, a secret fantasy. From a past experience, I should know better: there are no secrets one can keep from Christ. I closed my eyes. I saw a noticeable darkness. I did not like it. I knew I was in a bit of trouble. I then reconciled myself to God. When I opened my eyes, I saw spots of colored light on the left side of the monstrance (I was kneeling on the left side of the monstrance). I looked back to see if anyone else saw it, and wondered if they were from the sunlight shining through a stained glass window in the back of the chapel. I turned back and looked again, the round colored spots of light were still present. I turned my head back a second time to see where the sunlight was coming in from -- it was not evident -- the sun was not shining in from that direction. I looked back and the colored lights were gone. Fine. Then I concluded it was physics but was not entirely convinced that it was. I thought again, this time not so secretively, and said to the Lord in my mind that if what I saw was some kind of sign, I would like to see that again. The second time the light was different. I saw very subtle, small rays of light, again only on the left side of the monstrance, on the purple cloth that served as the background behind the monstrance, varying from lighter purple to darker purple. I knew that this could not have been sunlight for there was no sunlight coming from the right side. The right side was a painted wall with no windows. I was still unconvinced. I thought that this time my eyes were playing tricks with me and with that thought, the light show disappeared. Finally, I thought that if Peter could deny Christ three times, I certainly could have a third try. Nothing happened for a while. Then I saw the monstrance casting a shadow on the purple cloth behind it. This time, the shadow fell to the right of the monstrance. This made scientific sense because I did see sunlight peek through the stained glass windows on the left side, causing the shadow to appear. It was a shadow like any other, no spots of color, no gradation of purple -- it was simply a dark shadow showing the intricacies of the monstrance on a purple cloth. It lasted for a little while longer than expected, considering the two previous light shows were both of shorter duration (actually the first light show lingered a bit longer than the second, maybe even longer than the last, considering I turned my head around twice -- how long it lasted I do not know). So what is my conclusion? If I was shown the presence of Christ, I am thankful. If I was fantasizing--I do not know why I would be in the first place--it was a fantasy I did not choreograph. Why was I not shown an even more fantastical light show the third time? I think because someone is upset that I had so little faith and wanted to point out how dumb I was not to know the difference between what is worldly and what is other-worldly. In order to show that the first two were other-worldly, the third one had to be worldly to show the contrast. For me, the contrast worked: I am convinced the the first two light shows were not rooted in physics.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
The World's Protests
Arab Spring began in January, 2011 [1] in North Africa and the Mideast, affecting Egypt, Syria, Libya, followed by protests in Kiev, Ukraine in November, 2013 [2], and in Hong Kong in September, 2014 [3]. Regardless of how such protests and conflicts arose, they have come to the United States in cities like Ferguson, New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. beginning circa November, 2014, after two grand jury verdicts, in Ferguson [4] and in New York [5], [6], both favoring the police.
Now that some of the most influential parts of the world have had a taste of the poison of protests and conflicts, disrupting the peace and livelihoods of people, perhaps the protestors will go away, but I am not optimistic because the fortitudinously weak but politically powerful game-changers of different stripes over the years have played the game into the hands of Satan and became Its minions, so that this is no longer a world of unity but of division, of honesty but of deceit, of light but of darkness. In the world of Satan, there is no God but evil disguised as secularism, lawlessness [7] as victimhood, self-serving pride and greed [8] as righteousness.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Arab_Spring
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Hong_Kong_protests
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ferguson_unrest
[5] http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/the-death-of-eric-garner-the-grand-jury-decision/
[6] http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/03/protesters-block-d-c-city-streets-after-eric-garner-decision-photos/;
[7] Lawlessness is never an excuse for perceived injustice, nor is it a remedy for true injustice. Perceived injustice requires self-examination, corrective behavior and curative action whereas true injustice demands forgiveness.
[8] Self-serving pride and greed shocks the conscience of the good and awes those blind to the Truth.
Now that some of the most influential parts of the world have had a taste of the poison of protests and conflicts, disrupting the peace and livelihoods of people, perhaps the protestors will go away, but I am not optimistic because the fortitudinously weak but politically powerful game-changers of different stripes over the years have played the game into the hands of Satan and became Its minions, so that this is no longer a world of unity but of division, of honesty but of deceit, of light but of darkness. In the world of Satan, there is no God but evil disguised as secularism, lawlessness [7] as victimhood, self-serving pride and greed [8] as righteousness.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Arab_Spring
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Hong_Kong_protests
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ferguson_unrest
[5] http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/the-death-of-eric-garner-the-grand-jury-decision/
[6] http://dailycaller.com/2014/12/03/protesters-block-d-c-city-streets-after-eric-garner-decision-photos/;
[7] Lawlessness is never an excuse for perceived injustice, nor is it a remedy for true injustice. Perceived injustice requires self-examination, corrective behavior and curative action whereas true injustice demands forgiveness.
[8] Self-serving pride and greed shocks the conscience of the good and awes those blind to the Truth.
Two Strangers Entering My Life
I call them strangers because we do not really know one another. One of them is a young Japanese-German man who met me at the gym; another is a German lady who is one of my neighbors. He is 24, she is 70. I have had two conversations each with the young man and my neighbor. Neither of them is religious [a] but both are spiritual, smart and articulate.
While it is normal for a first conversation to be light and casual, but then I am not a normal person. Without telling them much of who I am for nothing that I am is interesting or important, I related to them some of the miracles that I encountered. For some reason, I no longer feel uncomfortable talking to others about the miracles [1] for I am no longer ashamed of them and afraid what others might think.
Neither of them fled as a result of our talks. Perhaps God brought us together. If that is the case, I must have been given the courage to talk about the miracles. Maybe they drew them out of me, or maybe I sensed that they had a need to hear them. Rightly or wrongly, I decided that recounting my experiences would lead them to the Mother of God, so She could introduce them to Her Son, Jesus.
Perhaps this signals a new direction in my life, toward an evangelization stage, one that I have not asked for, for I am used to a semi-reclusive existence, and certainly not prepared to undertake, for my life's secular burdens continue to demand my time, exhaust my energy and create stress. What is interesting is that my conversations did not exhaust me, stress me out and make me feel that time was wasted. On the contrary, both strangers rejuvenated me, enriched my spirit and made me feel that my time was not wasted on things that are secular and temporal but rather invested in the holy and eternal.
If doing God's work can be so fun and rewarding, I would like to do it tirelessly -- I just need to find a way to end my secular responsibilities for good -- that will take a miracle.
[a] I found out today that the 24 year old was taken to be baptized Catholic by his maternal grandmother against his parents' wishes. He is not practicing but is willing to attend Mass in Latin with me tomorrow, Sunday. He actually spent a few minutes before the Blessed Sacrament today before he decided to pray before the Blessed Virgin Mary instead. My neighbor will need a lot more time. Only a miracle to some degree will be able to convince her. I pray that it would happen.
[1] I am still not ready to share them on this blog.
While it is normal for a first conversation to be light and casual, but then I am not a normal person. Without telling them much of who I am for nothing that I am is interesting or important, I related to them some of the miracles that I encountered. For some reason, I no longer feel uncomfortable talking to others about the miracles [1] for I am no longer ashamed of them and afraid what others might think.
Neither of them fled as a result of our talks. Perhaps God brought us together. If that is the case, I must have been given the courage to talk about the miracles. Maybe they drew them out of me, or maybe I sensed that they had a need to hear them. Rightly or wrongly, I decided that recounting my experiences would lead them to the Mother of God, so She could introduce them to Her Son, Jesus.
Perhaps this signals a new direction in my life, toward an evangelization stage, one that I have not asked for, for I am used to a semi-reclusive existence, and certainly not prepared to undertake, for my life's secular burdens continue to demand my time, exhaust my energy and create stress. What is interesting is that my conversations did not exhaust me, stress me out and make me feel that time was wasted. On the contrary, both strangers rejuvenated me, enriched my spirit and made me feel that my time was not wasted on things that are secular and temporal but rather invested in the holy and eternal.
If doing God's work can be so fun and rewarding, I would like to do it tirelessly -- I just need to find a way to end my secular responsibilities for good -- that will take a miracle.
[a] I found out today that the 24 year old was taken to be baptized Catholic by his maternal grandmother against his parents' wishes. He is not practicing but is willing to attend Mass in Latin with me tomorrow, Sunday. He actually spent a few minutes before the Blessed Sacrament today before he decided to pray before the Blessed Virgin Mary instead. My neighbor will need a lot more time. Only a miracle to some degree will be able to convince her. I pray that it would happen.
[1] I am still not ready to share them on this blog.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
"Miserere"
"Miserere"--a beautiful song [1] sung by voices from Heaven:
1. Andrea Bocelli and Zucchero at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_KVsJLFxz0
and by
2. Luciano Pavarotti, Zucchero and Andrea Bocelli at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYBHNLdwzbs
Some countries have given the world deadly diseases, others technologically advanced deadly weapons, yet others have focused on creating the best cuisine to bring joy to the dining experience and on cultivating talents that open hearts to the expansive sounds of Heaven. Together, they occupy this planet along with others. Lucky are those who live in places that are close to Heaven, not places that are deceivingly heavenly or like Hell. Wherever one lives, a prayer [2], quoted below in Latin and in English, is appropriate:
[1] Translated by:
1. Andrea Bocelli and Zucchero at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_KVsJLFxz0
and by
2. Luciano Pavarotti, Zucchero and Andrea Bocelli at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYBHNLdwzbs
Some countries have given the world deadly diseases, others technologically advanced deadly weapons, yet others have focused on creating the best cuisine to bring joy to the dining experience and on cultivating talents that open hearts to the expansive sounds of Heaven. Together, they occupy this planet along with others. Lucky are those who live in places that are close to Heaven, not places that are deceivingly heavenly or like Hell. Wherever one lives, a prayer [2], quoted below in Latin and in English, is appropriate:
Agnus Dei,
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
Miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei,
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
Miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei,
Qui tollis peccata mundi,
Dona nobis pacem.
The Lamb of God,
Who took the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
The Lamb of God,
Who took the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
The Lamb of God,
Who took the sins of the world,
Grant us peace.
[1] Translated by:
[2] http://lyricstranslate.com/en/agnus-dei-lamb-god.html-0Have Mercy
Have mercy, have mercy,
Have mercy, poor me.
But I drink to life!
What a mistery is my life
What a mistery!
I'm a sinner of the year eighty thousand
A liar!
But, where am I? And what do I do?
How I live?
I live in the soul of the world
Lost in the depths of life!
Have mercy, poor me.
But I drink to life!
I'm the saint who betrayed you
When you were alone
And I live elsewhere and I look the world
from the sky
And I look the sea and the woods
I see me...
living in the soul of the world
Lost in the depths of life!
Have mercy, poor me.
But I drink to life!
If there was a night dark enought
to hide myself, hide myself
If there is a light, a hope
Gorgeous sun shining
inside me
Give me the joy of living
that isn't still here
Have mercy, have mercy,
That joy of living
that may be is not still here
Friday, November 28, 2014
God's Children
Jews, Gentiles, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, believers of other religions [1] and non-believers are all God's children. God speaks to each one individually and everyone is called to come home to Heaven [2].
Even though I would like everyone to be Catholic and holy, I am certain that the Catholic church is not the sole guardian of the key to Heaven even though many avenues within it are short-cuts for those whose believe in the Blessed Virgin Mary Who will lead them to Jesus, and through Jesus, the Son, they will meet God, the Father. The Holy Spirit, the third and most mysterious part of the Holy Trinity, is also ready to bring anyone Heavenly fulfillment and peace when It is summoned with undiluted earnestness [3].
The Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin Mary are here for all. Call on them. They are ready to receive and embrace.
[1] http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm
[2] Not everyone heeds the call of God. Those who answer to Satan will end up in Hell.
[3] Praying for the Holy Spirit to enter one's interior takes more courage and concentration than one thinks, and the saying, "be careful what you wish for" applies. The power of Holy Spirit is immense and limitless.
Even though I would like everyone to be Catholic and holy, I am certain that the Catholic church is not the sole guardian of the key to Heaven even though many avenues within it are short-cuts for those whose believe in the Blessed Virgin Mary Who will lead them to Jesus, and through Jesus, the Son, they will meet God, the Father. The Holy Spirit, the third and most mysterious part of the Holy Trinity, is also ready to bring anyone Heavenly fulfillment and peace when It is summoned with undiluted earnestness [3].
The Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin Mary are here for all. Call on them. They are ready to receive and embrace.
[1] http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm
[2] Not everyone heeds the call of God. Those who answer to Satan will end up in Hell.
[3] Praying for the Holy Spirit to enter one's interior takes more courage and concentration than one thinks, and the saying, "be careful what you wish for" applies. The power of Holy Spirit is immense and limitless.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
The Disturbingly Seductive Art Of Roberto Ferri
Below is an image of Michael the Archangel [1]:
The image of Archangel Michael above is not part of Roberto Ferri's work but I have inserted it here because I need to have Michael the Archangel above the next image below which is Lucifer.
The art of Roberto Ferri came across my search for an image of Lucifer. When man is able to imagine it, it probably exists, for spirits can have many appearances and will appear to man's imagination to inspire or enslave him. Roberto Ferri's image of Lucifer could be that of a male model but the gray gnarled foot, the blood-drained white finger nails and what I think is a metallic tail cannot be human, nor can the deformed bone structure with the round bumps below the knee. Below is the image [2], [3]:
I do not know if Roberto Ferri has been inspired or enslaved by his God-given talents but to speculate on it is not the purpose of this entry. The purpose of this entry is to introduce the beautiful work of Roberto Ferri, a modern-day Carravaggio [4] minus the Rembrandt-style theatrical spot lighting with dark backgrounds.
Besides Lucifer and other seductive but disturbing images, Roberto Ferri also painted Christ [5]. Perhaps the disturbingly seductive images are a glimpse of what Hell can look like.
Roberto Ferri is not the first fine artist to have imagined hellish images. There are others, among them are Sandro Botticelli [6], Gustave Doré [7] and Salvatore Dali [8].
They each have different imaginations given the same subject matter, so I suppose that we, too, each have in our imagination our own Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, at least while we are on earth. While Hell is usually far more interesting in man's imagination than Heaven [9], it is my hope that Hell is not so tantalizing in Its seduction that one overlooks Hell's disturbing and eternal sufferings and falls into It.
[1] Image from a search of images on Google: Archangel Michael
[2] http://www.robertoferri.net/gallery.php and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X2gKh_o6mc (video with music)
[3] Interview, in Italian, and many more artwork by Roberto Ferri: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcTTqwtkOsE
[4] http://www.caravaggio-foundation.org/
[5] https://www.pinterest.com/romanotje/jesus-christ-in-art/ and http://wiki.cultured.com/people/Roberto_Ferri/
[6] http://www.worldofdante.org/gallery_botticelli.html
[7] http://www.worldofdante.org/gallery_dore.html
[8] http://www.openculture.com/2012/06 and http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/03/21/salvador-dali-dante-divine-comedy/
[9] Hell is apparently more entertaining too based on the popularity of the sinister and Godless movies produced by the entertainment industry. See http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/
The image of Archangel Michael above is not part of Roberto Ferri's work but I have inserted it here because I need to have Michael the Archangel above the next image below which is Lucifer.
The art of Roberto Ferri came across my search for an image of Lucifer. When man is able to imagine it, it probably exists, for spirits can have many appearances and will appear to man's imagination to inspire or enslave him. Roberto Ferri's image of Lucifer could be that of a male model but the gray gnarled foot, the blood-drained white finger nails and what I think is a metallic tail cannot be human, nor can the deformed bone structure with the round bumps below the knee. Below is the image [2], [3]:
I do not know if Roberto Ferri has been inspired or enslaved by his God-given talents but to speculate on it is not the purpose of this entry. The purpose of this entry is to introduce the beautiful work of Roberto Ferri, a modern-day Carravaggio [4] minus the Rembrandt-style theatrical spot lighting with dark backgrounds.
Besides Lucifer and other seductive but disturbing images, Roberto Ferri also painted Christ [5]. Perhaps the disturbingly seductive images are a glimpse of what Hell can look like.
Roberto Ferri is not the first fine artist to have imagined hellish images. There are others, among them are Sandro Botticelli [6], Gustave Doré [7] and Salvatore Dali [8].
They each have different imaginations given the same subject matter, so I suppose that we, too, each have in our imagination our own Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, at least while we are on earth. While Hell is usually far more interesting in man's imagination than Heaven [9], it is my hope that Hell is not so tantalizing in Its seduction that one overlooks Hell's disturbing and eternal sufferings and falls into It.
[1] Image from a search of images on Google: Archangel Michael
[2] http://www.robertoferri.net/gallery.php and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X2gKh_o6mc (video with music)
[3] Interview, in Italian, and many more artwork by Roberto Ferri: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcTTqwtkOsE
[4] http://www.caravaggio-foundation.org/
[5] https://www.pinterest.com/romanotje/jesus-christ-in-art/ and http://wiki.cultured.com/people/Roberto_Ferri/
[6] http://www.worldofdante.org/gallery_botticelli.html
[7] http://www.worldofdante.org/gallery_dore.html
[8] http://www.openculture.com/2012/06 and http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/03/21/salvador-dali-dante-divine-comedy/
[9] Hell is apparently more entertaining too based on the popularity of the sinister and Godless movies produced by the entertainment industry. See http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/
Beware The Desire For Justice
From the Gospel of Matthew: " Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." [2]
These are words of God They are simple to understand but difficult to live by.
[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6%3A37&version=NIV
[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207:1-2
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Waiting For What?
I went to get a haircut yesterday. The barbershop owner in his forties observed that he was no longer young and lamented that he had lost his teenage good-looks. Unexpectedly, he asked a ponderous question: waiting for what? No one answered. More than a day later in my mind, the question still lingers.
Why he asked the question I have no clue. I suppose there is nothing exciting in his life to look forward to, for every day is mundane, working away to support his family. I also suppose that he is not Christian or for that matter, a believer in any religion.
When life is taken for granted, when it is seen as a time spent in a vapid wasteland of recycled existence that leads nowhere, when it is lived without regular self-examinations of conscience in order to better oneself, to rest in God the hope of being a person of humility and charity, then life's future would surely be plain without meaning and hope, like a blank canvas with no image and no color that is as large as life is long placed before an uninspired artist with no talent and no imagination.
One does not want to own a canvas for life and be the artist without an iota of inspiration staring at it year after year waiting for something to happen because nothing will.
Thus the question, waiting for what, may have an answer after all: waiting for the rays of gratitude for the gift of life to emanate from within to shine upon one's canvas through the prism of a unique and irreplaceable existence that is each of us to cast upon it multidimensional images in a heavenly mixture of colors that changes continuously and varies from gloomy to spectacular, depending on the extent of one's of holiness at any given moment.
One must then ask: is it better to have a blank canvas at the end of life than one covered with stains of Sin of all kinds?
I would personally rather have a canvas stained with regretted sins than one unmarked by any acknowledgement of God and all the struggles between good and evil that one engaged in throughout life. At the gates of Heaven and Hell, if I had no perfection to present, at least my battle scars would show, even if I had lost and evil had won. With God's forgiveness, hopefully the Gate of Heaven will open. That is what everyone is waiting for, whether anyone wants to admit it or not.
Why he asked the question I have no clue. I suppose there is nothing exciting in his life to look forward to, for every day is mundane, working away to support his family. I also suppose that he is not Christian or for that matter, a believer in any religion.
When life is taken for granted, when it is seen as a time spent in a vapid wasteland of recycled existence that leads nowhere, when it is lived without regular self-examinations of conscience in order to better oneself, to rest in God the hope of being a person of humility and charity, then life's future would surely be plain without meaning and hope, like a blank canvas with no image and no color that is as large as life is long placed before an uninspired artist with no talent and no imagination.
One does not want to own a canvas for life and be the artist without an iota of inspiration staring at it year after year waiting for something to happen because nothing will.
Thus the question, waiting for what, may have an answer after all: waiting for the rays of gratitude for the gift of life to emanate from within to shine upon one's canvas through the prism of a unique and irreplaceable existence that is each of us to cast upon it multidimensional images in a heavenly mixture of colors that changes continuously and varies from gloomy to spectacular, depending on the extent of one's of holiness at any given moment.
One must then ask: is it better to have a blank canvas at the end of life than one covered with stains of Sin of all kinds?
I would personally rather have a canvas stained with regretted sins than one unmarked by any acknowledgement of God and all the struggles between good and evil that one engaged in throughout life. At the gates of Heaven and Hell, if I had no perfection to present, at least my battle scars would show, even if I had lost and evil had won. With God's forgiveness, hopefully the Gate of Heaven will open. That is what everyone is waiting for, whether anyone wants to admit it or not.
From Here To Holiness
A humanly unbridgeable wide and deep chasm separates the here and now from the somewhere up there and a time not yet here. It is wide because of the countless permutations of Sin; it is deep because of the repetitive and the injurious nature of such sins. In other words, the larger the variety of sins one commits, the wider the chasm, the more often one commits such sins and the more serious the harm that result from their commission, the deeper.
Man alone cannot bridge the chasm because he is naturally predisposed to Sin and all its variations. Sin is like an opportunistic virus that seeks man as Its host, taking over his entire being when he is weak and unable to resist It. Man is always defenseless against the lure of Sin. Only when man attaches himself to God and prayer is he able to inoculate himself against Sin. Like all inoculations, man's belief in God and prayer does not mean he will be free from the influence of Sin and will no longer suffer the consequences of Its manifestations--it merely lessens the intensity of his suffering when he contracts Sin.
For man to avoid Sin entirely, God has to intervene in an extraordinary way. When God became man, Jesus was able to resist all temptations Sin had to offer because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, was made pure by God and led an undefiled and inviolate life. No one else before Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary had anyone received the full grace of God to live a sinless life, and no one since. Only by the extraordinary grace of God can one resist Sin and all Its manifestations. Certainly, no one at present has it.
Indeed, many live their lives today in Sin and totally oblivious of the chasm between them and God. They are smug--self-righteous without a scintilla of humility or charity. Smugness itself is a sin and in my opinion, one of the very serious, for it is a self-ordained perfection that rests entirely on one's self-serving pride and flaunts the need for God, if God is even in the periphery.
For the smug ones, bridging their chasm will be difficult. Almost as challenging, albeit in a different way, will be for those who are scrupulous, for holiness is at the intersection of Truth and Perfection at a place somewhere up there that is not and cannot be found here.
Man alone cannot bridge the chasm because he is naturally predisposed to Sin and all its variations. Sin is like an opportunistic virus that seeks man as Its host, taking over his entire being when he is weak and unable to resist It. Man is always defenseless against the lure of Sin. Only when man attaches himself to God and prayer is he able to inoculate himself against Sin. Like all inoculations, man's belief in God and prayer does not mean he will be free from the influence of Sin and will no longer suffer the consequences of Its manifestations--it merely lessens the intensity of his suffering when he contracts Sin.
For man to avoid Sin entirely, God has to intervene in an extraordinary way. When God became man, Jesus was able to resist all temptations Sin had to offer because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, was made pure by God and led an undefiled and inviolate life. No one else before Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary had anyone received the full grace of God to live a sinless life, and no one since. Only by the extraordinary grace of God can one resist Sin and all Its manifestations. Certainly, no one at present has it.
Indeed, many live their lives today in Sin and totally oblivious of the chasm between them and God. They are smug--self-righteous without a scintilla of humility or charity. Smugness itself is a sin and in my opinion, one of the very serious, for it is a self-ordained perfection that rests entirely on one's self-serving pride and flaunts the need for God, if God is even in the periphery.
For the smug ones, bridging their chasm will be difficult. Almost as challenging, albeit in a different way, will be for those who are scrupulous, for holiness is at the intersection of Truth and Perfection at a place somewhere up there that is not and cannot be found here.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Power Grabbers, Troublemakers, Liars & Killers
The ruthless and greedy power grabbers, the passive-aggressive troublemakers, the chronic liars and mass killers serve at the pleasure of Satan. Whichever side they are on [1] makes no difference to Satan so long as they continue to ruin lives, disturb the peace and create havoc around the world, lie and kill. These evildoers feign righteousness but are hypocrites. They could not be more despicable. While I say the Fatima prayer as part of my rosary for myself as well as for these contemptible creatures, my uncompassionate heart will not allow a single tear to shed if and when Saint Michael thrust them and their evilness into Hell.
[1] It is almost amusing to see the liars pointing fingers at the killers and the killers blaming the ruthless and greedy power grabbers and troublemakers and to realize that the liars are also themselves killers and the killers themselves liars, power grabbers and troublemakers. Evildoers are evil and they do not need to be distinguished and separated.
[1] It is almost amusing to see the liars pointing fingers at the killers and the killers blaming the ruthless and greedy power grabbers and troublemakers and to realize that the liars are also themselves killers and the killers themselves liars, power grabbers and troublemakers. Evildoers are evil and they do not need to be distinguished and separated.
Friday, November 14, 2014
The Suffering Church
Satan's influence upon the souls of men is gaining relatively recently, evidenced by forcibly burned and destroyed churches in the Mideast [1], [2], [3] and in Armenia [4] and desecrated churches in France and Italy [5], [6], voluntary Catholic church closings in the United States [7], [8] and government sanctioned curtailment of mainly Protestant churches in China [9]. The footnote citations show not only are ISIL and certain Al-Qaeda groups doing the work of Satan in destroying churches, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York is also doing the same to churches in America, and in my opinion, no less violent than what has been happening around the world, by his decision to "merge 112 of [the Archdiocese of New York's] 368 parishes into 55, effectively shuttering at least 31 churches by Aug. 1, 2015." [10]
The Cardinal admitted that "the restructuring is not the result of a shortage of priests, but from a shortage of the faithful. 'They're not coming anymore and we have to get them back.'" [11]
What? The Catholic Church can get the faithful back by shutting down its churches rather than inspiring the not-always-faithful and others to go to church to kneel before the alter to pray and meditate on the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament?
I seriously doubt that the churches that have been targeted by Cardinal Dolan for closure have no faithful attendees anymore. I suspect that he wanted the churches closed because of financial reasons. If my guess is right, then the Cardinal told a lie. Why should anyone be surprised? Satan is the Prince of Lies. Those under Its influence [12] will lie on Its behalf, to desecrate and destroy churches on Its behalf, to shut down the very sanctuaries of holiness on Its behalf, so that fewer and fewer people could easily enter into a nearby church to kneel supplicate before the Forgiver of Sin often so that their souls may be saved.
[1] http://www.religiousfreedomcoalition.org/2014/07/30/all-45-christian-institutions-in-mosul-destroyed-or-occupied-by-isis/
[2] http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/20/ISIS-burns-1-800-year-old-church-in-Mosul.html
[3] http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=21758
[4] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jabhat-alnusra-blows-up-armenian-church-in-deir-elzour-a-savage-blow-that-echoes-through-armenian-history-9852372.html
[5] http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=22239
[6] http://eponymousflower.blogspot.com/2014/06/church-desecration-tabernacle-broken.html
[7] http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1404533.htm
[8] http://www.westernjournalism.com/city-permits-muslim-group-desecrate-catholic-church/
[9] http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/08/why-is-china-tearing-down-church-crosses-because-its-terrified-of-religion/
[10] http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1404533.htm
[11] Ibid.
[12] This blog has consistently maintained that Satan seeks out the weak leaders in their respective thrones of influence and power in order to possess them so that they would speak and act on Its behalf, by putting distance between men and Christ, so that Satan can freely roam the earth seeking the ruin of souls.
The Cardinal admitted that "the restructuring is not the result of a shortage of priests, but from a shortage of the faithful. 'They're not coming anymore and we have to get them back.'" [11]
What? The Catholic Church can get the faithful back by shutting down its churches rather than inspiring the not-always-faithful and others to go to church to kneel before the alter to pray and meditate on the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament?
I seriously doubt that the churches that have been targeted by Cardinal Dolan for closure have no faithful attendees anymore. I suspect that he wanted the churches closed because of financial reasons. If my guess is right, then the Cardinal told a lie. Why should anyone be surprised? Satan is the Prince of Lies. Those under Its influence [12] will lie on Its behalf, to desecrate and destroy churches on Its behalf, to shut down the very sanctuaries of holiness on Its behalf, so that fewer and fewer people could easily enter into a nearby church to kneel supplicate before the Forgiver of Sin often so that their souls may be saved.
[1] http://www.religiousfreedomcoalition.org/2014/07/30/all-45-christian-institutions-in-mosul-destroyed-or-occupied-by-isis/
[2] http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/20/ISIS-burns-1-800-year-old-church-in-Mosul.html
[3] http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=21758
[4] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jabhat-alnusra-blows-up-armenian-church-in-deir-elzour-a-savage-blow-that-echoes-through-armenian-history-9852372.html
[5] http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=22239
[6] http://eponymousflower.blogspot.com/2014/06/church-desecration-tabernacle-broken.html
[7] http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1404533.htm
[8] http://www.westernjournalism.com/city-permits-muslim-group-desecrate-catholic-church/
[9] http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/08/why-is-china-tearing-down-church-crosses-because-its-terrified-of-religion/
[10] http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1404533.htm
[11] Ibid.
[12] This blog has consistently maintained that Satan seeks out the weak leaders in their respective thrones of influence and power in order to possess them so that they would speak and act on Its behalf, by putting distance between men and Christ, so that Satan can freely roam the earth seeking the ruin of souls.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
The Miracles Of Prayer
Praying the rosary brings eventual peace into one's otherwise difficult and stressful life. This is the first miracle. Within this first miracle are eventual answers to one's prayers, including answers to prayers not prayed for specifically [1], giving one peace of mind. The second miracle is not so noticeable. The prayers of the rosary also strengthens the body and the mind, even when one is going through pain and suffering.
[1] An example of an answer to a prayer not prayed for specifically is the miracle of avoiding a traffic accident countless number of times by miraculously observing traffic, traffic signals, pedestrians, barricades, et cetera, just in time to slow down and/or come to a complete stop safely.
[1] An example of an answer to a prayer not prayed for specifically is the miracle of avoiding a traffic accident countless number of times by miraculously observing traffic, traffic signals, pedestrians, barricades, et cetera, just in time to slow down and/or come to a complete stop safely.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
A Guardian of the Blessed Sacrament
An article dated October 24, 2014, by John Pontifex is quoted below [1]:
[1] http://www.churchinneed.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8115&news_iv_ctrl=1461
[2] The spirit of a nameless and faceless little girl in China lives in Martin Baani, the same girl who inspired Bishop Fulton Sheen to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour daily. See http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/701076/posts
[3] What problem did Martin Baani not want to run away from? Perhaps he was referring to the Christ crucifiers. How long would Martin Baani be able to protect the Body of Christ with his own? I hope for a long, long time, despite the trials and tribulations that may lie ahead. God is certain to be by his side, always.
[4] John Pontifex also writes for CatholicHerald.co.uk. See http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/author/john-pontifex/
Bombs are falling and the sound of the explosion is sending shock and fear into the hearts of the people. Amid the sound of crying and frenzied activity, people pack up what belongings they can carry and make off into the night.
In the midst of it all stands Martin Baani, a 24-year-old seminarian. It’s dawning on him that this is Karamlesh’s last stand.For 1,800 years, Christianity has had a home in the hearts and minds of the people of this village so full of antiquity. Now that era is about to be brought to a calamitous end; Islamic State are advancing.Martin’s mobile phone rings: a friend stammers out the news that the nearby town of Telkaif has fallen to “Da’ash” – the Arabic name for Islamic State. Karamlesh would surely be next.Martin dashes out of his aunt’s house, where he is staying, and heads for the nearby St Addai’s Church. He takes the Blessed Sacrament, [2] a bundle of official papers and walks out of the church. Outside a car awaits – his parish priest, Father Thabet, and three other priests are inside.Martin gets in and the car speeds off. They leave Karamlesh and the last remnants of the village’s Christian presence go with them.Speaking to Martin in the calm of St Peter’s Seminary, Ankawa—a suburb of the Kurdish regional capital of Erbil—it is difficult to imagine he is describing anything except a bad dream. But there is nothing dreamy in Martin’s expression. “Until the very last minute, the Pashmerga [the Kurdish armed forces protecting the villages] were telling us it was safe.“But then we heard that they were setting up big guns on St Barbara’s Hill [on the edge of the village] and we knew then the situation had become very dangerous.”Taking stock of that terrible night of August 6, Martin’s confidence is bolstered by the presence of 27 other seminarians at St Peter’s, many with their own stories of escape from the clutches of the Islamic militants.Martin and his fellow students for the priesthood know that the future is bleak as regards Christianity in Iraq. A community of 1.5 million Christians before 2003 has dwindled to less than 300,000. And of those who remain, more than a third are displaced. Many, if not most, want a new life in a new country.Martin, however, is not one of them. “I could easily go,” he explains calmly. “My family now live in California. I already have been given a visa to go to America and visit them.”“But I want to stay. I don’t want to run away from the problem.” [3]Martin has already made the choice that marks out the priests who have decided to stay in Iraq; his vocation is to serve the people—come what may.“We must stand up for our rights; we must not be afraid,” he explains. Describing in detail the emergency relief work that has occupied so much of his time, it is plain to see that he feels his place is to be with the people.Martin is already a sub-deacon. Now in his final year of theology, ordination to the priesthood is but a few months away.“Thank you for your prayers,” says Martin, as I take my leave of him. “We count on your support.”John Pontifex is a senior journalist for Aid to the Church in Need [4]
ACN photo: Martin Baani
[1] http://www.churchinneed.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8115&news_iv_ctrl=1461
[2] The spirit of a nameless and faceless little girl in China lives in Martin Baani, the same girl who inspired Bishop Fulton Sheen to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament for an hour daily. See http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/701076/posts
[3] What problem did Martin Baani not want to run away from? Perhaps he was referring to the Christ crucifiers. How long would Martin Baani be able to protect the Body of Christ with his own? I hope for a long, long time, despite the trials and tribulations that may lie ahead. God is certain to be by his side, always.
[4] John Pontifex also writes for CatholicHerald.co.uk. See http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/author/john-pontifex/
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Religion & Politics
Politics and religion is inextricably intertwined, even in a "free" country such as the United States that has in its Constitution an Amendment that states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion [the "Establishment Clause"], or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." [1] "The First Amendment's
Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law 'respecting an establishment of religion.' This clause not only forbids
the government from establishing an official religion, but also
prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over
another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring
religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion." [Emphasis added.] [2]
Interpretation of the United States Establishment Clause is sound, but there is one major problem--United States coins and United States Federal Reserve notes show the following words: "In God We Trust." [3] They make no mention of Allah [4], Buddah [5] and Zeus [6], for example. Thus, not only has the United States government tied itself to religion, but it is also preferring one religion over others and over secularism in contradiction to the Establishment Clause.
A secondary problem centers on these very words: "In God We Trust." Does the United States of America really have trust in God and how should it follow the Catholic Church's schizophrenic interpretation of the Gospels? Should it fight "just" wars [7], or love thy enemies [8], [9]?
While Christ is absolutely right that one should love his enemies, is it reasonable for one to consider those who torture and decapitate the vulnerable to be his enemies and to kill them to stop further atrocities in order to advance human civilization? The question may be framed to elicit an answer in the positive but ultimately in politics, and sadly in religion too, the end game--who lives and who dies, the killer and the killed (literally and figuratively)-- is about ideology and power over people based on rationalization, propaganda and lies.
Only God knows if a killer ought to be forgiven, whichever side the killer is on. Until the Truth is revealed as to who is right and who is wrong, who should live and who should die, who would go to Heaven and who would go to Hell, killings will continue, as will ideological politics [10], whether they are played by a secular state, a theocracy or a religion.
[1] http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution/the-amendments/amendment-1-freedom-of-religion-press-expression
[2] http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/establishment_clause
[3] http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx
[4] http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm
[5] http://www.aboutbuddha.org/english/life-of-buddha.htm/
[6] http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx
[7] http://www.catholic.com/documents/just-war-doctrine
[8] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6%3A27-36&version=ISV
[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5:43-48
[10] Arguably all politics is ideological.
Interpretation of the United States Establishment Clause is sound, but there is one major problem--United States coins and United States Federal Reserve notes show the following words: "In God We Trust." [3] They make no mention of Allah [4], Buddah [5] and Zeus [6], for example. Thus, not only has the United States government tied itself to religion, but it is also preferring one religion over others and over secularism in contradiction to the Establishment Clause.
A secondary problem centers on these very words: "In God We Trust." Does the United States of America really have trust in God and how should it follow the Catholic Church's schizophrenic interpretation of the Gospels? Should it fight "just" wars [7], or love thy enemies [8], [9]?
While Christ is absolutely right that one should love his enemies, is it reasonable for one to consider those who torture and decapitate the vulnerable to be his enemies and to kill them to stop further atrocities in order to advance human civilization? The question may be framed to elicit an answer in the positive but ultimately in politics, and sadly in religion too, the end game--who lives and who dies, the killer and the killed (literally and figuratively)-- is about ideology and power over people based on rationalization, propaganda and lies.
Only God knows if a killer ought to be forgiven, whichever side the killer is on. Until the Truth is revealed as to who is right and who is wrong, who should live and who should die, who would go to Heaven and who would go to Hell, killings will continue, as will ideological politics [10], whether they are played by a secular state, a theocracy or a religion.
[1] http://constitutioncenter.org/constitution/the-amendments/amendment-1-freedom-of-religion-press-expression
[2] http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/establishment_clause
[3] http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx
[4] http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm
[5] http://www.aboutbuddha.org/english/life-of-buddha.htm/
[6] http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx
[7] http://www.catholic.com/documents/just-war-doctrine
[8] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6%3A27-36&version=ISV
[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5:43-48
[10] Arguably all politics is ideological.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
An Angelic Face No Longer
Below is a side by side photograph of actress Renee Zellweger [1] before and after her transformation, one that is, in my opinion, from angelic (left) to ghastly:
Here are two more [2], [3]:
Sad is the cruel world of Hollywood, a place that attracts those who hunger for attention, money and fame, that objectifies people and reduces them to commodities. Like commodities, they are bought and sold. It makes no difference whether others buy and sell them or they buy and sell themselves, they know their prices. No matter how big the dollar amount is at the end of a performer's career, it is finite.
God did not intend for anyone to be finite. God created man and gave us Christ as a model of the infinite. Being infinite, Christ could not be bought by Satan's most tantalizing temptations and is therefore priceless. That is what God intends for every person--priceless in a unique way and to give to others the infiniteness within.
The joy of being infinite is the Joy of Heaven. Imagine how vulgar it would be for someone to wait around Heaven's Gate with a price tag around the neck when Heaven is looking for all who are priceless and infinite [4].
For those who find it necessary to alter one's looks or skin color, or maintain the look of youth to meet the shallow demands of Hollywood, may they find peace beyond their insatiable quest for popularity, wealth and fame, and beyond what they see in the mirror: the illusion of acceptance.
[1] http://sinarharapan.co/news/read/27528/-wajah-baru-renee-zellweger
[2] http://gossipmagazines.net/renee-zellweger-plastic-surgery/
[3] http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/renee-zellwegers-new-look-raises-eyebrows-20140314-34qoh.html
[4] Not everyone who earns a living in the entertainment industry (reality shows included) will treat his/her wealth as a ticket to enter Heaven, but it is reasonable to assume that some will. Those who do have nothing but emptiness within.
Here are two more [2], [3]:
Sad is the cruel world of Hollywood, a place that attracts those who hunger for attention, money and fame, that objectifies people and reduces them to commodities. Like commodities, they are bought and sold. It makes no difference whether others buy and sell them or they buy and sell themselves, they know their prices. No matter how big the dollar amount is at the end of a performer's career, it is finite.
God did not intend for anyone to be finite. God created man and gave us Christ as a model of the infinite. Being infinite, Christ could not be bought by Satan's most tantalizing temptations and is therefore priceless. That is what God intends for every person--priceless in a unique way and to give to others the infiniteness within.
The joy of being infinite is the Joy of Heaven. Imagine how vulgar it would be for someone to wait around Heaven's Gate with a price tag around the neck when Heaven is looking for all who are priceless and infinite [4].
For those who find it necessary to alter one's looks or skin color, or maintain the look of youth to meet the shallow demands of Hollywood, may they find peace beyond their insatiable quest for popularity, wealth and fame, and beyond what they see in the mirror: the illusion of acceptance.
[1] http://sinarharapan.co/news/read/27528/-wajah-baru-renee-zellweger
[2] http://gossipmagazines.net/renee-zellweger-plastic-surgery/
[3] http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/renee-zellwegers-new-look-raises-eyebrows-20140314-34qoh.html
[4] Not everyone who earns a living in the entertainment industry (reality shows included) will treat his/her wealth as a ticket to enter Heaven, but it is reasonable to assume that some will. Those who do have nothing but emptiness within.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
All Saints Day - 2014
Each saint has his or her feast day and together they share All Saints Day. I do not know all the names of the saints of the Catholic Church but am certain that some are far more saintly than others. However, in deference to all the saints regardless of the extent of each saint's holiness, I have looked forward to their gathering on November 1st to pray away the darkness of secularization embraced by those around the world who celebrate Halloween the nights and days before.
Assuming that the saints do pray, their prayers have not been all that effective since the human race is still bent toward the darkness of secularization. Not only is it largely oblivious to the Feast of All Saints, it has turned Christmas into a holiday that has little to do with celebrating the birth of Christ, but rather a time to indulge in shopping, feasting, drinking, gifting and refunding or exchanging of presents received. More sinister is the human race spending more time dressing up as bunnies and Easter-egg hunting on Easter Sunday than reflecting on the meaning of Christ's resurrection, not to mention the many people who treat Good Friday merely as another holiday, and who do not give a moment's thought to the suffering and crucifixion of the Sinless Christ for the forgiveness of Sin and the salvation of souls.
How the Catholic Church has determined November 2nd to be All Souls Day when Halloween seems to be a day for all souls already is a mystery to me. Is the Fatima prayer that is to be said at the end of each of the five decades of the Hail Mary ("Ave Maria ") prayer insufficient? Perhaps not. Since more and more people are hell-bent on being unsaintly, their souls would require their special day, so that those who are living can pray for them since the dead can no longer pray themselves, not until their souls enter Heaven.
On the Feast of All Saints, both the living and the dead would be glad to have the benefit of the prayers of all the saints. All should be thankful for their prayers on their shared feast day and those who have the luxury to pray ought to pray that they continue praying.
Assuming that the saints do pray, their prayers have not been all that effective since the human race is still bent toward the darkness of secularization. Not only is it largely oblivious to the Feast of All Saints, it has turned Christmas into a holiday that has little to do with celebrating the birth of Christ, but rather a time to indulge in shopping, feasting, drinking, gifting and refunding or exchanging of presents received. More sinister is the human race spending more time dressing up as bunnies and Easter-egg hunting on Easter Sunday than reflecting on the meaning of Christ's resurrection, not to mention the many people who treat Good Friday merely as another holiday, and who do not give a moment's thought to the suffering and crucifixion of the Sinless Christ for the forgiveness of Sin and the salvation of souls.
How the Catholic Church has determined November 2nd to be All Souls Day when Halloween seems to be a day for all souls already is a mystery to me. Is the Fatima prayer that is to be said at the end of each of the five decades of the Hail Mary ("Ave Maria ") prayer insufficient? Perhaps not. Since more and more people are hell-bent on being unsaintly, their souls would require their special day, so that those who are living can pray for them since the dead can no longer pray themselves, not until their souls enter Heaven.
On the Feast of All Saints, both the living and the dead would be glad to have the benefit of the prayers of all the saints. All should be thankful for their prayers on their shared feast day and those who have the luxury to pray ought to pray that they continue praying.
Friday, October 24, 2014
The Synod Of Bishops 2014
The 2014 Synod of Bishops, a meeting that had uncovered deep divisions within the Catholic church, will continue next year when the world will find out if those divisions will be bridged and if so, how. An article published by a decidedly non-religious medium, Reuters, summarized the event. [1]
While one can dream of the perfect person and a perfect family in a perfect world, the dream cannot be translated into reality for nobody is perfect and therefore no family is perfect at a place that is no longer the Garden of Eden. How the Church plans to deal with those who have sinned but cannot "go and sin no more" is a challenge because a sinner will keep on sinning without the grace of God.
Certainly, no one really expects the Church to expand her definition of family to include unmarried heterosexual couples with kids and married homosexual couples with adopted children, and to welcome divorced men living with their pretty, young girlfriends, leaving their wives without husbands and their children fatherless and to permit a Bishop to go around sprinkling "dykes" on their "bikes" at a gay parade with Holy Water.
It will be interesting to see how far the Church under this pope will go in accepting those existing outside of the scope of a traditional Catholic family [2] without judging them. If indeed this pope is willing to embrace everyone with open arms, Heaven would look very different in his imagination than in Cardinal Burke's.
[1] http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/10/23/what-the-catholic-synod-that-discussed-divorced-lgbt-believers-did-and-didnt-do/
[2] This entry is not complete without without analyzing Jesus' family (see http://www.gotquestions.org/Joseph-and-Mary.html). Jesus' family was not traditional. The Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit (a one-of-a-kind of conception that is not equivalent to a sperm-bank pregnancy or an in vitro fertilization) before Jesus had a father (Joseph and Mary were betrothed when Joseph was asked to become the father of Jesus, the "husband" of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by angel Gabriel), but it could be said that Jesus was conceived by God the Father, and therefore He had a Father before He was conceived. Technically, Jesus had two fathers. A boy from a good Catholic family does not have two fathers (notwithstanding the Lord's prayer that begins with "Our Father" and other prayers to God the Father), let alone parents who never have sexual relations with each other. Joseph and Mary never had sexual relations before the birth of Jesus (it was not likely that the Blessed Virgin Mary had sex with Joseph when She was carrying the Son of God in Her womb) and presumably none after they were married (they were supposedly married) since Jesus had no siblings. This is not "normal" within the context of the traditional Catholic family.
While one can dream of the perfect person and a perfect family in a perfect world, the dream cannot be translated into reality for nobody is perfect and therefore no family is perfect at a place that is no longer the Garden of Eden. How the Church plans to deal with those who have sinned but cannot "go and sin no more" is a challenge because a sinner will keep on sinning without the grace of God.
Certainly, no one really expects the Church to expand her definition of family to include unmarried heterosexual couples with kids and married homosexual couples with adopted children, and to welcome divorced men living with their pretty, young girlfriends, leaving their wives without husbands and their children fatherless and to permit a Bishop to go around sprinkling "dykes" on their "bikes" at a gay parade with Holy Water.
It will be interesting to see how far the Church under this pope will go in accepting those existing outside of the scope of a traditional Catholic family [2] without judging them. If indeed this pope is willing to embrace everyone with open arms, Heaven would look very different in his imagination than in Cardinal Burke's.
[1] http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/10/23/what-the-catholic-synod-that-discussed-divorced-lgbt-believers-did-and-didnt-do/
[2] This entry is not complete without without analyzing Jesus' family (see http://www.gotquestions.org/Joseph-and-Mary.html). Jesus' family was not traditional. The Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit (a one-of-a-kind of conception that is not equivalent to a sperm-bank pregnancy or an in vitro fertilization) before Jesus had a father (Joseph and Mary were betrothed when Joseph was asked to become the father of Jesus, the "husband" of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by angel Gabriel), but it could be said that Jesus was conceived by God the Father, and therefore He had a Father before He was conceived. Technically, Jesus had two fathers. A boy from a good Catholic family does not have two fathers (notwithstanding the Lord's prayer that begins with "Our Father" and other prayers to God the Father), let alone parents who never have sexual relations with each other. Joseph and Mary never had sexual relations before the birth of Jesus (it was not likely that the Blessed Virgin Mary had sex with Joseph when She was carrying the Son of God in Her womb) and presumably none after they were married (they were supposedly married) since Jesus had no siblings. This is not "normal" within the context of the traditional Catholic family.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
The Sperm Bank Baby
A report by Lisa Ling on a sperm bank produced a few thoughts. She was at the Fairfax Cryobank where apparently the best looking, the most athletic and the most intelligent male specimens were being collected in the form of spermatozoa. Women who wish to be fertilized by the sperm of a model male can pay for the privilege. [1]
This is not what Mother Nature intended. Actions that human beings take that are contrary to Mother Nature will lead to the destruction of civilization. Suppose all children born are from a select group of exceptionally attractive, athletic and smart alpha males with DNA that predisposed them to be decision-makers and leaders, then who will follow? Who will do the cooking and the cleaning at home? Who will be the car attendants, the chefs and the servers? Who will be the garbage collectors, the hairdressers, the seamstresses, the plumbers and the carpenters?
And what if the women who are being fertilized by these sperms are not saintly themselves, but are downright selfish, cunning, manipulative and ruthless, then would their offspring not possess some or all of those traits? Would the world then not have too many very capable, attractive, bright men and women who would do evil deeds?
What if the men who ejaculate into a container have character flaws and are virtueless sinners themselves? Would their offspring also have some or all of that unfortunate DNA?
Is it natural for a man to enter a small room with magazines and videos to self-stimulate to ejaculation and then aim his erect penis at a container to shoot his semen into? The male specimen Lisa Ling interviewed insinuated that he did that twice a week. Does anyone think that there maybe something abnormal with that man's thought process or desires? Was he that desperate for money, assuming he gets paid well for his hand job?
Would Carlos Slim [2], [3] who is neither slim nor tall, exceptionally attractive nor athletic but incredibly wealthy qualify as a candidate at the Fairfax Cryobank? Did his mother get fertilized by an unknown man's sperm at a sperm bank? Would billionaire Slim walk into a room and ejaculate so that whichever offspring from his sperm can sue his eventual estate as a relative for not including him or her in his will?
Would a good Catholic priest ever condone an act of masturbation? Would he himself ejaculate for a sperm bank? Would the Catholic church not be better off to have exceptionally good-looking, smart and athletic priests who are celibate, loving and humble to attract all the sexually deprived wives and their homosexually latent husbands to church to listen to their sermons?
If Jesus were alive today, would He, a homeless, uneducated, indigent man who would rather suffer and die than fight for His beliefs, qualify to be a specimen at a sperm bank? Would any woman want to be impregnated by His seed after reading His anonymous specifications?
Is a sperm bank baby necessarily going to be a more loving person and live a happier life than a baby naturally conceived? Is there any guarantee that a sperm bank baby is going to deliver as expected? Were Albert Einstein's children also geniuses? Were any of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's children famous composers? Were Steve Jobs' biological parents successful and wealthy?
I believe the answer to all the queries in the paragraph above is in the negative, which proves that there are no guarantees in life, whether the life comes from a sperm bank zygote or not. One thing is certain: God is still in charge [4], no matter how much control one thinks one has over one's life and the lives of one's children.
[1] This entry does not address the perversion of the family structure.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Slim
[3] http://www.forbes.com/profile/carlos-slim-helu/
[4] The fact that God is in charge does not contradict man's Free Will. Man can exercise his Free Will but the outcome of his will rests with God.
This is not what Mother Nature intended. Actions that human beings take that are contrary to Mother Nature will lead to the destruction of civilization. Suppose all children born are from a select group of exceptionally attractive, athletic and smart alpha males with DNA that predisposed them to be decision-makers and leaders, then who will follow? Who will do the cooking and the cleaning at home? Who will be the car attendants, the chefs and the servers? Who will be the garbage collectors, the hairdressers, the seamstresses, the plumbers and the carpenters?
And what if the women who are being fertilized by these sperms are not saintly themselves, but are downright selfish, cunning, manipulative and ruthless, then would their offspring not possess some or all of those traits? Would the world then not have too many very capable, attractive, bright men and women who would do evil deeds?
What if the men who ejaculate into a container have character flaws and are virtueless sinners themselves? Would their offspring also have some or all of that unfortunate DNA?
Is it natural for a man to enter a small room with magazines and videos to self-stimulate to ejaculation and then aim his erect penis at a container to shoot his semen into? The male specimen Lisa Ling interviewed insinuated that he did that twice a week. Does anyone think that there maybe something abnormal with that man's thought process or desires? Was he that desperate for money, assuming he gets paid well for his hand job?
Would Carlos Slim [2], [3] who is neither slim nor tall, exceptionally attractive nor athletic but incredibly wealthy qualify as a candidate at the Fairfax Cryobank? Did his mother get fertilized by an unknown man's sperm at a sperm bank? Would billionaire Slim walk into a room and ejaculate so that whichever offspring from his sperm can sue his eventual estate as a relative for not including him or her in his will?
Would a good Catholic priest ever condone an act of masturbation? Would he himself ejaculate for a sperm bank? Would the Catholic church not be better off to have exceptionally good-looking, smart and athletic priests who are celibate, loving and humble to attract all the sexually deprived wives and their homosexually latent husbands to church to listen to their sermons?
If Jesus were alive today, would He, a homeless, uneducated, indigent man who would rather suffer and die than fight for His beliefs, qualify to be a specimen at a sperm bank? Would any woman want to be impregnated by His seed after reading His anonymous specifications?
Is a sperm bank baby necessarily going to be a more loving person and live a happier life than a baby naturally conceived? Is there any guarantee that a sperm bank baby is going to deliver as expected? Were Albert Einstein's children also geniuses? Were any of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's children famous composers? Were Steve Jobs' biological parents successful and wealthy?
I believe the answer to all the queries in the paragraph above is in the negative, which proves that there are no guarantees in life, whether the life comes from a sperm bank zygote or not. One thing is certain: God is still in charge [4], no matter how much control one thinks one has over one's life and the lives of one's children.
[1] This entry does not address the perversion of the family structure.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Slim
[3] http://www.forbes.com/profile/carlos-slim-helu/
[4] The fact that God is in charge does not contradict man's Free Will. Man can exercise his Free Will but the outcome of his will rests with God.
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