Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free -- NOT!!

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Last weekend we saw millions of people around the world protesting the Donald Trump presidency, demanding that the voices of all people be heard.  Of course, these are the same people who feel abortion on demand is a human right.  Obviously unborn children are completely disposable in their eyes, which proves the hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance of their movement.

Daily Meditation: The Miracle of Conversion

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.  It is a miracle any time a sinner turns away from his sins and accepts the grace and salvation of Jesus Christ.  But one of the greatest conversion stories in history - and probably the greatest conversion story of all - is that of Saul of Tarsus a/k/a St. Paul.  It is so great that Holy Mother Church has actually made a feast day commemorating Paul's conversion.

Daily Meditation: Bringing Light to a Darkened World

Today's readings mirror, in many ways, the re-creation of the world.  In Genesis 1, we are told that the first creation of God was light:

Genesis 1:1-4:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Just as God's first act of physical creation was to bring light to a darkened world, so in bringing us to eternal redemption, the first thing Our Lord does is bring light into our darkened lives.  

Daily Meditation: Playing The Fool For Christ

We are made to be social creatures. We all want to belong, we all want to be regarded highly by other people. We all want to be "cool". When I was a child in the 1960's, it was "cool" to be counterculture, to reject the values of our parents and society in general and find our "own way", and "do our own thing", which actually boiled down to throwing off all moral constraint. But "doing your own thing" really meant following everyone around you. We tried to pretend we didn't need others, but in reality, we could not reject our own need for social acceptance.

Daily Meditation: Mercy Is Front and Center

Jesus Christ came to this earth with a message of compassion, love and mercy.  Many say that the Gospel of Love does away with the law, but that is not what Our Lord said,  He told us he came to fulfill the law (Mt. 5:17).  How did our Lord accomplish this?  Today's readings give us a vivid illustration of this great message.

Daily Meditation: Do As He Says, Even When It Makes No Sense

I don't know if I will be successful at this, but I would like to try to do a small meditation on each day's readings.  I am doing it much more for myself than anyone else, but if others can benefit - either from agreeing or disagreeing with me - then so much the better.

Cardinals Standing On The Precipice

As I have written before, I don't think any Church document since Humanae Vitae in 1968 has produced as much controversy and outright rebellion in the Catholic Church as we have seen from Amoris Laetitia.

I have been watching the conservative/traditionalist blogosphere tear into Pope Francis over Amoris Laetitia, labeling the Holy Father and the document as heretical and destructive to the Catholic Faith. We now have four Cardinals - four princes of the Church - Cardinals Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra, Walter Brandmüller and Joachim Meisner - who are challenging Pope Francis to a spiritual duel and calling for everyone else to jump on board with them.

The Gospel According to Satan

I have wasted a good portion of my life in a futile search for someone and/or something on this earth that I could truly believe in, someone and/or something that was real and true and honest. And I have found nothing but disappointment and broken dreams in my journey.

EWTN Again Attacks and Distorts the Message of Pope Francis

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.

Go and learn the meaning of the words,

I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Matthew 9

A few weeks ago, I did a blog post in which I showed that Raymond Arroyo of EWTN led the "Papal Posse", consisting of Robert Royal and Father Gerald Murray, in a discussion about Pope Francis's attitude towards marriage. I clearly showed how they manipulated and outright lied regarding Pope Francis's statements, totally changing the true meaning of Pope Francis's message regarding the marriage crisis in the 21st Century.

Well, Arroyo and the "Papal Posse" (better referred to as the "Papal Hanging Mob") were at it again on the World Over broadcast of September 15, 2016. This time they went after the Holy Father for his response to guidelines written by the Bishops of Argentina. The subject of these guidelines was implementation of the papal exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. Once again, Arroyo and his "Papal Posse" gave us half quotes and poor translations, never allowing us to see anything in context, and they once again slandered Pope Francis and misrepresented his message of hope to the world.

Father John Zuhlsdorf Again Proves He Is A Danger To The Faithful

Last year I reported that Father John Zuhlsdorf banned me from his blog.  I wasn't banned from just being able to comment.  He actually banned me from even viewing his blog.  When I would try to call up his blog on my home IP address, all I got was the following:

The reason he banned me was because I dared to disagree with a post he wrote in which he said the Ordinary Form and Extraordinary Form of the Mass were not two separate forms, as the Church declares them to be, but are actually two separate rites.  When I tried to correct him and pointed out that Pope Benedict had plainly written in his letter to the bishops that "[i]t is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were 'two Rites'.   Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite", Father Z had a "spittle flecked nutty", called me nasty and banned me.  And he not only banned my home IP address, he also banned my work IP address.

A couple of months ago, for some unknown reason, he lifted the ban on my home so that I can now view his blog (I'm not about to try to comment), but my work IP address is still banned.

I occasionally check in on his blog, but for the most part I cannot stomach his ultra right views either theologically or politically.   Just as he attacked me for daring to disagree with him, he attacks anyone with whom he does not agree.  I find his style very combative and in your face.

How Catholic Bloggers and Their Followers Put Themselves in Eternal Peril

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I, for the most part, no longer read "catholic" blogs and websites.  Far too many "catholic" blogs are filled with self-righteous hatred, anger, vitriol and condemnation of anyone who does not agree with them.  The main target of these blogs is the hierarchy of the Catholic Church - the Church they claim to love and support.  The biggest target of all is the earthly head of the Catholic Church - Pope Francis.  I have written many times on this blog about the horrific attacks and hate directed at Pope Francis by self-identifying "catholic" bloggers.  

Why Pope Franics is Right and His Critics Are Wrong

Jesus' attitude is striking: we do not hear the words of scorn, we do not hear words of condemnation, but only words of love, of mercy, which are an invitation to conversation. "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again." Ah! Brothers and Sisters, God's face is the face of a merciful father who is always patient. Have you thought about God's patience, the patience He has with each one of us? That is His mercy. He always has patience, patience with us, He understands us, He waits for us, He does not tire of forgiving us if we are able to return to Him with a contrite heart. "Great is God's mercy," says the Psalm.

— Pope Francis, Angelus on March 17, 2013

I believe that Pope Francis is one of the holiest men to ever sit in the Chair of Peter. His message and actions reflect the love and mercy of Christ and the Gospel more closely than we have seen from any pope in the last 150 years. This is not to disparage any of our recent popes in any way. We have been greatly blessed with true men of God in the Chair of Peter during the last couple of centuries as is evidenced by the fact that the majority of them are either canonized saints or up for sainthood.

EWTN Slanders and Defames Pope Francis

EWTN, the Catholic network founded by the late Mother Angelica, played a crucial role in my return to the Catholic Church, as it has in the lives of countless others around the world. There is no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit guided Mother Angelica to found this network and bring the beauty and wonder of the Catholic Church to the world.

However, in the last few years, EWTN seems to be losing its way.  Mother Angelica, of course, has not been in charge since she suffered a major stroke in 2001.  That was 15 years ago, and I think little of her influence is left in this network.  I watched some of their coverage of Pope Francis' visit to the US last year with Raymond Arroyo and Father Gerald Murray, and I was very disappointed and even somewhat scandalized by their constant disagreement with statements by the Holy Father.

But they reached an all new low with the June 23, 2016 broadcast of the "World Over" in which Arroyo, Father Murray and Robert Royal, denounced Pope Francis by mischaracterizing and distorting his statements and outright slandering him.  Of course, the traditional catholic blogosphere - always quick to condemn Pope Francis - could not be more ecstatic.

The Christian Right's Contribution to Evil

The so-called "catholic" blogosphere reacted this week in horror (again, almost in one voice) to what they consider to be a truly evil action. Oh, I don't mean the horrific massacre of 49 people and wounding of dozens of others in an Orlando nightclub. The incident which enraged many "catholic" bloggers was the reaction of certain Catholic bishops and priests to the shooting.

One bishop in particular whom they thoroughly excoriated was Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg, Florida. What heretical, scandalous act did His Excellency commit?

Bishop Lynch dared to do some deep soul searching in an attempt to understand how one man could become so consumed with hate that he would want to kill as many people as possible for no other reason than he disagreed with them.  How could a society which is primarily based on the Judeo Christian ethic of love thy neighbor produce a person who could so callously kill and wound over 100 people?  Most of America satisfied themselves with the answer that the man was a Muslim extremist terrorist who hated everything that wasn't Muslim.  Others said the problem was the easy availability of guns.

When Will Michael Voris Stop Hating Himself?

Michael Voris devotes a major part of his self-proclaimed apostolate to trying to destroy anyone in the Catholic Church who shows any compassion or empathy for homosexuals.  Voris especially goes after Catholic priests and bishops, the majority of whom, according to Voris, are either homosexual or "homosexualist." There are a lot of problems in the Catholic Church, but according to Michael Voris, most of the problems mainly center around the "homosexual agenda." Following is an excerpt from a "Vortex" episode from January 11, 2016:

"Here is the situation in a nutshell: The American Catholic Church is largely controlled by homosexual clergy and their allies. Those not in the network are powerless to confront it owing to its vast influence and fear factor, as well as not really understanding how it operates. The Catholic establishment media won't get within a million miles of this issue of the homosexual collective because they too are scared."

Voris seems unable to differentiate between showing respect and compassion for homosexuals and condoning homosexuality. He seems to view one action as equivalent to the other.