Moral Relativism

I had a friend strike up a conversation recently about "Moral Relativism" and how due to secularism gaining such a foothold how this concept is destroying our culture. 

I found these shocking videos to demonstrate just how frightening this mindset truly is.  God bless us all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlkn3d6FIzo&feature=relmfu

These next 2 videos belong together.  The 2nd of them has some harsh language by a person listening who cannot even listen to the end of this persons point here.  This is where we have come to. We are so angered by even the idea of a One True God....we must heckle and cannot even listen to the concept...truly frightening...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=k460kdR9sQw&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=hYtt310Z6ck

Another GREAT Real Catholic

I'm fairly certain I've posted this onebefore but it is so good, it's worth a second look.  This one is Michael discussing how "modernism" has beat up the Church BUT...how slowly, Oh so slowly, by the Grace of God, we are taking her back...so worth the few minutes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qHC9FHGxH1w
...

A Dose of Voris

Once again, catching up on my buddy Voris & this episode is actually quite beautiful.  It reminds me of sad atheism actually is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JWTame_pO-s

Prayer, Understanding, Acceptance then Happiness

Something has happened to me over the course of this past year (in particular.)  As my life has gotten more beyond my control with the development of my son’s illness & my husband’s unemployment situation growing ever grimmer, I felt that all I personally could do to help was enhance my prayer life since every other aspect of this was beyond MY personal control. I have always prayed for discernment, even prior to this past year. Understanding of what my calling was in life and presently I was praying for the wisdom and good judgment for: 1) how to accept this current fate of my family, 2) How to best assist my family and 3) how to find happiness through it all. 

I’d pray & pray and ask God for answers and then understanding.  NOT the “why me” answers.  I just knew if I had a better understanding of the age old question  “Why bad things happen to good people…” then I just knew acceptance would follow for me.  And as I’ve shared with you before, I think I have been blessed with those answers which has empowered me and brought me tremendous strength and happiness through quite possibly some of the worst events a family may ever face; pending financial ruin & the possible death of child. The “what ifs” can be overwhelming. The sleepless nights physically and mentally debilitating.  The stress can kill you & the anger eat you from the inside out.

For me, it has been through praying the rosary and the contemplative time I have spent talking to God directly about these matters that I have been blessed. The quiet time that Pope Benedict has been asking us all to embrace in our lives because it is THESE times that we most strongly hear God’s voice and the rushed, noisy lives we all currently lead drones out any voice from God.  I notice it so obviously when my life gets too busy now. If I have no time to spend by myself, quietly for a while, I know I am missing Him. It is these times I feel so far away from God.  I have never felt closer to Him as when I am in the hospital, next to my sleeping son & virtually alone in my thoughts.  I have no question that it has been these moments that God taught, directed and specifically blessed me with insight on how to navigate not only myself but my family through these otherwise crushing adversities. It is a gift for anyone facing grave issues in their lives and willing to fully embrace them. 

I think we spend a lot of time wanting to blame someone for hardships, pain, suffering, misfortune etc. It seems natural to have something/someone to direct all these overwhelming emotions towards even if that someone is ourselves.  BELIEVE me, I understand. I actually had someone say to me “You need to ‘check’ yourself…why do you think you and your family is experiencing all of this hardship…” implying it must be “Karma” of some sort.  That my wrongdoings have brought my child near death & has kept my husband from finding a job. This person was a Born Again Christian who was trying to “explain” to me my faults of being Catholic. Obviously the ULTIMATE and most damning of all offenses.  So once again, another person who believes in a ‘Karma’ outcome to our lives.  So since in HIS eyes, my Catholicism was such a sin against God…not only did I have to suffer but my entire family must suffer as well.  Huh, tough stuff. Oddly, this person was already a Born Again (a convert from Catholicism) when sadly his wife passed of cancer…I guess I should have asked at that time why he felt he and his wife had to suffer unduly when he had already been a member of the CORRECT faith, huh? ***SIGH*** missed opportunities.  But, my response to him WAS “I DO check myself regularly with the grace giving gift of Confession, thank you very much. And my son is ill because people get sick.” But that answer wasn’t complete enough….as time went on I feel that more insight was imparted to me as I thought about it (because unfortunately, one never stops thinking about it)…and one day it struck me quite clearly that “It is NOT because of GOD that we endure emotional & physical pain in this world…it is ultimately because of SIN (so Satan) that ANY human has ever endured pain” and again NOT in a KARMA sort of way but in a “Thrown out of Paradise” way.  My meaning, before the first people gravely sinned against God and chose to succumb to the temptations of Satan and angered God to the point of  changing the course of human existence forever, there was no pain, suffering, sickness or stress at all.  But by being thrown out of the “Garden of Eden” with the stain of original sin….this event ushered in all of human suffering along with it.  In my twenties when my pursuit of my faith was in its foundling stages and I was confused about a lot, and had a ton of questions, a dear friend told me that she had a huge problem with religion & God etc.  She shared that she believed in a Higher Being BUT she would never understand why a benevolent God would ever allow the little old lady crossing the street who gets hit by a runaway bus to EVER happen.  She asked this of a priest one day & the priest responded something like “Ohhh, you don’t have a problem understanding God friend…you have a problem understanding Satan.” I have walked around with that statement bouncing around my brain since the early 90’s & I never truly understood it until a few months ago when I was struck with this notion.  God does not dump suffering upon humans.  Humans have, by our original sin because we chose to listen to Satan (consequences for actions...a concept we have all but lost.) But it is why God sent his Son to live as a human, beside us and why we are witness to Jesus' suffering at the hand of pure & unadulterated evil...he experienced the WORST this human world had to offer to show us that He too would suffer along side of us and understand when we hurt. In doing so, he would open the gates of Paradise to us once again. But we would have to work for it and it would not be easy. He GAVE it to us the first time but with rules.  We disobeyed the rules and was punished and sent away from Him. We have been given a second chance to individually gain it back. We each must face Satan and choose wisely.  Satan is a very good study of human nature and human nature NEVER changes only our technology does.  Currently, Satan is having his HAYDAY with current society.  Secularism is his breeding ground. The farther away an entire society moves from faith, the deeper we sink as a whole.  Laws supporting the killing of babies in the womb or grandparents in the nursing home…these are grave, grave sins we are all a part of because our tax dollars support them.  The destruction of the family and the re-branding of the "modern family" is an affront to God.  Nature has become religion for many and “Mother Earth” their god, luring us away from religion as we become a culture of "self morality" and modernist, individualism.  As a culture we are actually reverting to our pagan roots with pop culture leading the way with a sexy, enticing image, all too difficult for many to ignore (the modern day apple if you will.)  When the majority of the culture considers the faithful the enemy & the outsiders….where does that leave us?  Evil is rising.  Suffering is great.  But I contend if you pray, in particularly the rosary, go to confession, attend mass, and ask for discernment…you will receive understanding. Understanding of whatever your place in this society & world is.  Understanding of how to fix your everyday struggles as well as your momentous ones. Understanding of who the enemy is in this world (Satan NOT God) and all you need to defeat him & change the world around you is for more people to pray. If every Catholic (1.1 Billion of us) took 25 minutes out of their day EVERY DAY to say the rosary & directly speak to God in contemplative prayer we would 1) find peace & happiness in our own lives 2) Gain strength you NEVER KNEW YOU HAD 3) expel Satan from your life & help the world as a whole. It doesn’t cost you a dime. You don’t even NEED to buy a rosary…you have ten fingers for a reason. It has transformed me & I would even venture to say saved my emotional life as well as my family’s.  You know that popular book called “The Secret” which promotes “self religion”….an evil concept….well I offer you the TRUE secret….the answers CAN be found but not without God blessing you with it.  Our society is lost because we have lost touch with God. Human suffering & pain was not meant for humans to handle on their own.  That is why we have a society in ruin & moral decay.  Once tragedy hits us, we cannot find the human strength to get past it on our own so we anesthetize ourselves, we abuse our bodies & minds because many tragedies are too great for us.  We ruin relationships & families are lost.  All the answers can be found & peace, security and happiness can be achieved in God.  Prayer is the stepping stone to a relationship with God. It took me a long time to get into a comfortable routine with my prayer life, and now, like any exercise routine, when I miss a day I feel off balance.  Our faith, our RELIGION, is so perfect in every way.  Fall of the cliff and allow yourself to be consumed by it.  It will save you. Many of us don’t need a therapist, we don’t need meds, or destructive behavior. Arm yourself with your faith.  I know how unbelievable it sounds to those who maybe don’t currently practice or question the whole concept or are in so deep that it seems fanciful that such a simplistic concept could truly help THEM. Maybe one feels they are  too smart, too advanced, too sophisticated for religion. Or maybe one feels that being a good person and praying once in awhile and dropping into Mass randomly is enough…I implore you to look deeper.   

If I am fortunate enough in 2012 to 1) put my son’s illness behind us and 2) see my husband employed again before complete financial ruin….I can honestly say I don’t think I will ever be faced with a scenario I couldn’t endure. The lessons learned while living through these experiences and blessings and graces my family has received I could have never dreamed of.  God continues to shower my family and guide us daily & I wish it for all of you. Even if these things do NOT come to pass, I am certain God will see us through until they do.  No matter what the outcome.  

I share with you all of this in hopes you too can find true peace and happiness in a world so wrought with grief, pain and suffering.  Understanding is the key.  I continue to pray for it.  I will continue to share it. God bless friends.                          

OK I had to share this with you all...

So, if you are not familiar with the You Tube video that has gone viral & attracted so much attention about "Hating Religion" here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY&feature=related

Here is Fr. Baron's comments if you missed it on this video: http://www.wordonfire.org/WOF-TV/Commentaries-New/Fr-Barron-comments-on-Why-I-Hate-Religion,-But.aspx

And HERE is quite possibly the most brilliant REBUTTAL check out this Priest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE&feature=share

I'm adding one more to  this today 1/20/12:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwetTNAGC44&feature=related

God bless all!

WOW! This hit close to home...

Watch this beautiful video about a family who found blessings in horrendous adversity...what grace and strength this family has.  God bless them & that beautiful little boy.

http://www.godvine.com/Isaac-s-Miracle-Baby-Recommended-for-Abortion-Defies-All-Odds-933.html

Hello Friends....Great Video

I grabbed this from a close friend today.  This viral video has everyone "a-buzz" that Fr. Barron is talking about here.  Father has been gifted with his ability to explain things in such an energized way, I could listen to him speak all day.  Enjoy!

 http://www.wordonfire.org/WOF-TV/Commentaries-New/Fr-Barron-comments-on-Why-I-Hate-Religion,-But.aspx

The Annual March is soon Upon Us....

And Planned Parenthood is claiming MLK for their own....
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/01/16/planned-parenthood-uses-martin-luther-king-to-promote-abortion/

Alevda King, his niece has something to say about that..listen to her live tonight at 11ET @
http://www.waamradio.com/

Help end abortion.  You CANNOT claim Catholicism and be Pro-Choice...

Confession-Reconciliation-Pennance....whatever you call it...come home!

In a mere 2 weeks, my 7 year old will be receiving her first Reconciliation. I cannot tell you how excited I am for her to receive the tremendous gift of human healing and spiritual salvation. My daughter will be taking her first step of individual acceptance of her faith & personal responsibility of the maintenance of her soul.

Reconciliation is probably the most "avoided" Sacrament of all 7 in our beautiful faith because: 1) it is so regularly misunderstood & 2) it is REALLY hard to openly discuss our faults with others.
You know what they say in the 7 step programs...admission is the first step...well it rings the TRUEST for Catholics in the confessional. We must ADMIT our wrong doings openly to a priest and ONLY through an ordained priest (the priest being the vehicle & intercessor for us) who is solely able to offer God's Sacramental graces that we are absolved. I think many Catholics are stuck on the point of “If I am truly sorry, and I ask for forgiveness, He will hear me & forgive me.”  The best example I have ever heard in regard to this argument is, and I cannot recall where I heard it…it may even be Scott Hahn in the You Tube link I have supplied below BUT let’s say you broke someone’s window…when you approach the person whose window you broke and offer an apology…HOPEFULLY you are forgiven right then & there BUT…does that omit you from having to actually PAY for that window?  The Sacrament of Confession is the PAYMENT for that window.  It is also why we spend time in Purgatory after death.  It is the final down PAYMENT for that sin that will cleanse us to perfection so we can stand in the light of God. 
I offer you a great gift…listen to Scott Hahn here talk on the Sacrament of Confession.  Have I posted this before?  I love it so much, every few months I listen to it again because of how it re-energizes me and excites me about the glorious GIFT of our healing faith. 

I have been away for a bit due to my son having made a few recent trips to the hospital (nothing serious just part of the process) AND I have taken on a new, part time job that God has GIFTED me with. Once again…another bread crumb in my path to help sustain my family. 
Enjoy the link and go to Confession today…dump your baggage, clean your soul and start the week off right! You’ll be glad you did! 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ0D-BLWY70

Saw this great quote today....

It is because of faith that we exchange the present for the future. - St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Some mock Catholic's by saying we "deny" ourselves too much.  But it is because of our belief in our potential place in Heaven that we deny ourselves Earthly pleasures (at times) in the present in exchange for our future glory with God.  Our sights should always be on the "Big Picture" not the day to day.

May we all have the strength to forego Earthly temptations by keeping our focus on the Kingdom of Heaven!  Keep the faith friends!  

OK, I just Freaked Myself Out a Little...

So you know how I JUST rambled on & on the other day about how God doesn't pick how each individual passes nor does He insert Himself into our lives by deeming one person better off than another due to that person's good works....in essence I was touching on how there was no "Predestination." Well....check out this "Integrated Catholic" piece today discussing the same topic...just weird to me how I JUST was popping off about it...Enjoy!

http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2012/01/dr-kreeft-freewill-and-predestination/

Are ONLY Catholics worthy of Heaven?

This question has been tossed about forever & before I even did any research on the topic I knew in my heart this could NOT be true. Not JUST because our God is benevolent but it just didn't make any sense. How could a little Baptist girl from Mississippi who never even MET a Catholic a day in her life not be worthy of Heaven & expected to convert? How could a holy & Godly Rabbi not have that shot at Heaven? It just didn't make any sense to me at all.  And, as always, we are TRULY blessed as Catholics because EVERY, SINGLE question I have ever held about our beautiful faith has ALWAYS led back to the truth and the truth is ALWAYS sensible. It maybe a difficult position but it is always benevolent and sensible. 
I have heard SO MANY lies, falsehoods, misguided comments on this topic that I thought I’d go to the source & find out if my personally held belief all these years was accurate or just wishful thinking. 
I strongly urge, if you ever have a question about the faith to visit http://www.catholic.com/ the Catholic Answers website.  What a tremendous & authentic source for us all.  A true gift because it does all the hard work for us.
It answers any & all of your questions sourcing ONLY authentic Catholic sources and allows us to view all previous answered questions we can find under broken down categories. 
Someone once asked “Is it possible to be saved without knowing anything about the Bible or Jesus?” 
I thought this question was great since it encompassed ALL people and Jim Blackburn (a regular writer for the Catholic Answers magazine & poster on the site) responded with this: 

“All people are called by God to know him and to please him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for" (CCC 27).

God freely gives everyone the grace to respond to his call. "Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life" (CCC 1996).

So what happens to those who have the desire for God written on their hearts and are moved by grace to respond to him but never hear the gospel or know of Jesus? The Church teaches that they may attain salvation. Quoting from Vatican II document Lumen Gentium, the Catechism explains, "Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation" (CCC 847).”

Another question asked was: “Someone told me that atheists could be saved if they acted charitably, but I said that apart from God's saving works, man cannot save himself.”

The answer from Michelle Arnold, another apologetic from the website said this:

While you are correct that man cannot save himself, God can choose to save someone who is unable in conscience to believe God exists but lives as best he can according to the knowledge he does have. Gaudium et Spes states about atheism:

Undeniably, those who willfully shut out God from their hearts and try to dodge religious questions are not following the dictates of their consciences, and hence are not free of blame; yet believers themselves frequently bear some responsibility for this situation . . . To the extent that they [believers] neglect their own training in the faith, or teach erroneous doctrine, or are deficient in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than reveal the authentic face of God and religion. (19)

This implies that the culpability for atheism is not necessarily entirely the individual’s. To the extent that belief in God has been made impossible for him by others, there may be some mitigation of his culpability for unbelief. Ultimately we must trust that even he is not beyond the reach of God’s mercy if he strives to live morally (cf. Lumen Gentium 16). The second great commandment is love of neighbor (Matt. 22:39) and Christ said of those who serve others, even if they do not explicitly do it for Christ’s sake:

Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?" And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Matt. 25:37-40).

And finally I found THIS question posed: “I was reading something that said "There is no salvation outside the Church," meaning the Catholic Church. But I always thought that Catholics considered Protestants and Orthodox to be Christian too.”

The answer by Jim Blackburn again:

“The affirmation "outside the Church there is no salvation" is explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as follows:

How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his Body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation.

Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men. (CCC 846-848)

Specifically concerning non-Catholic Christians, the Catechism notes:

The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter. Those who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. With the Orthodox churches, this communion is so profound that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist. (CCC 838)


So, once again…for all those who like to paint Catholics as non-inclusive or judgmental (& like such Earthly & human traits would be the reasons for our tenets anyway)…they’d be wrong. I find it interesting how (especially other Christians) spend so much of their evangelization efforts it attempting to smear & discredit OTHER faiths as to somehow legitimize their own.  If their faith was so truthful...so accurate & authentic wouldn't by merely explaining their OWN tenets be enough to persuade us?  Wouldn't the TRUTH of their faith be strong enough make ME a believer? There is so much "in-fighting" among non-Catholic Christians because everyone (of course) believes THEIRS is the one true faith and correct pathway to heaven.  But the Catholic faith needs no defense...it just needs more people to LEARN what it truly means to BE Catholic (which is no easy task.) BUT that is why Catholics are so blessed.  We CAN answer every question about our faith, belief & practices by citing our tenets alone & their link to the Bible and the Father's of the Church and they are ALWAYS accurate, authetic and TRUTHFUL.  There are so many lies spread about the faith but if you do even a LITTLE bit of homework (again not citing other people's OPINIONS about the faith when it comes to our tenets or sources that are not from the Catechism itself or Papal encyclical...e.g. 'Catholic's' who have chosen not to accept Vatican II because they feel it wasn't authentic enough for them...they can have some pretty radical positions that are OPINION based not based in the Catechism or on the flip side Pro-Choice 'Catholic's' they too are are not in line with our accurate beliefs and I'd be wary about citing anything opinion based from these groups/individuals as an authentic source for Catholicism. Sadly, you can find a Catholic out there who believes ANYTHING BUT traditionl Catholicism yet still consider themselves Catholic...) from a true & approved apologetic source like Catholic Answers one would find out how spot on the Catholic faith truly is.  But with such a HOST of conflicting LIES it is sometimes hard to sort through.  The Catholic Church is so old that there is so much history people have they can attempt to distort, that many spend alot of their time trying to do just that. The HATE so many hold against Her is astonishing & makes one wonder...why so brothers? "Me thinks thou doth protest too much!" Why are these folks not focusing on their particular produt to sell instead of focusing so much effort on tearing down the competition?  That is why we have such a gift in some of these sources and know that every question is answered in our Catechism. 

By knowing that not only Catholic's are saved, I hope that doesn't discourage you from wanting to spread OUR Good News to others because it is a true GIFT you are giving someone else.  Cradle Catholics were given the gift at birth. Converts have WORKED for the gift and who I feel many times, cherish it more.  I don't think Catholics EVER have to discredit another's faith it attempt to do that but if someone ever has a question for you about our beautiful faith...it is always nice to be able to help them understand it accurately.   Carry on the good work in 2012 friends!

Mother of God....not JUST the human side of God

U-Catholic on the Solemnity of Mary....since Jesus is fully God & fully human..how could Mary only be the Mother of "just" the human side of Jesus?  This is a piece discussing that...

http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/mother-of-god/