Grief

Our sweet Bogey from less than a month ago

A few days ago I had to change the profile on this blog to read "I live in Brooklyn, New York with my husband and 4 cats" to "I live in Brooklyn, New York with my husband and 3 cats."  We lost our precious Bogey, pictured at left, last Tuesday.  He had been diagnosed last January with pleural effusion, which means fluid on the lungs.  It got quite bad the last few weeks, and we had him operated on this past Tuesday.  He died shortly after the surgery.  He was only 7 years old.

For those who have never loved an animal, you will have no idea what I'm talking about.  But for those who have had their hearts stolen by one of God's beautiful creatures, you will know intimately the pain that I feel in my heart. 

I have had more than one person say to me that it is just too painful to lose them, so they refuse to have another cat or dog because they can't stand to go through the pain again.  They so want to avoid the inevitable pain that comes from losing what they love that they will give up the joy of love itself.  And that is a terrible mistake. 

Everything in this life, including our own lives, is temporary.  Because of sin, everything in this world will die and fade away.  Everyone you love is going to eventually betray you if in no other way than that they are going to die and leave you, if you don't betray them by dying first.  And it will hurt, you will feel like your heart is being torn out of your chest.  In fact, the deeper you love, the more brutal the pain.  That is the price of love in this world, and there is no escaping it, except, of course, if you choose not to love at all.  But if that is the path you have taken, you have not only rejected love, you have rejected life itself.  As Simon and Garfunkel sang back in the 60's, "I am a rock, I am an island, and a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries." 

Our Blessed Mother Holding Her Dead Son In Her Arms,
who died a bloody painful death to save us

The symbol of Christianity, true Christianity, is Christ on the cross, with his arms outstretched, completely naked (we added the loincloth out of modesty), completely vulnerable, shedding his blood so that we can be saved from eternal death.  This is the truest picture of love that the world has ever seen or will ever see.  If Christ had shied away from the pain, we would all be eternally condemned.  Our Lord not only had to suffer the physical pain of the crucifixion, he had to suffer rejection and hatred from the very ones he was dying for.  If our Blessed Mother had not been willing to open her heart, if she had not been willing to suffer the sword that pierced her heart as Simeon had prophesied, Christ could not have become man and poured out his human blood to save mankind.  If we are not willing to love, which means opening our heart to suffering, there can be no life. 

Bogey at the top of the cat tree
with his friends, Cagney and Emily

To choose to avoid the suffering that comes from loving an animal is not a sin.  But if we choose to avoid the suffering that comes from loving other human beings, who are made in the image of God and for whom He died, then we have sinned and cut ourselves off from life itself. 

There was a beautiful movie made back in the mid 1990's called "Shadowlands", based on the true story of C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy.  Joy was an American who had fled to England to escape an abusive, alcoholic and adulterous husband.  She asked "Jack" to marry her so that she could have English citizenship and stay in the country.  He married her as a favor with no intention of ever being a real husband to her.  Shortly after they were married, she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer.  He suddenly realized he loved her and took her and her son into his home and took care of her.  His love for her grew very deep. 

Below is a scene from the movie where Joy discusses her impending death with Jack.  She tries to tell him that the joy they feel in being together cannot be separated from the pain he will endure when she dies.  As she says, "the pain then is part of the happiness now.  That's The Deal"  To reject the pain means also to reject the happiness.



After Joy dies, Jack struggles with his grief, getting very angry at God, unable to deal with the great loss and pain he is feeling.  Finally, the wisdom of what Joy tried to explain to him begins to break through.  He realizes that to reject the suffering also means to reject the great happiness he felt with her.  Below is the last scene of the movie in which Jack explains that he understands what Joy tried to tell him.  When he was a young boy and his mother died, he just hid away from both the love and pain he felt for her.  He chose "safety."  As a man, he chose love, which means he chose suffering. 



The good news is that as Christians, we can take this further.  The suffering we feel now is a part of the unending happiness we will experience with our Saviour for all eternity.  Our suffering now is what will lead us into an eternity of complete happiness and bliss.  The last chapter in the last book of the Bible, Revelation 21, gives us this preview:

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone, and the sea is now no more.
2 And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people; and God himself with them shall be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true.

A New Heaven and a New Earth

As we say in the prayer at the end of the Rosary to our Blessed Mother, "To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears."  As our Lord told us in the sermon on the mount, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Unless we are willing to mourn on this earth, to experience and even embrace our suffering just as Christ embraced His Cross, we cannot experience the comforting love of our Saviour in heaven.   If you run away from your suffering, which is your cross, you are also running away from your reward in heaven.

That's the deal.

Thank you Bogey, for sharing your sweet life with us.  Rest in peace, my little prince.

Bogey with his friend Cagney

The End of Christendom

I very seldom watch network or cable TV anymore.   Most television programming is now awash in the morals of our time - acceptance, nay promotion of homosexuality and promiscuity, emphasis on the superficial and trivial (e.g., "Jersey Shore"), lack of family and traditional values, vulgar and profane speech, complete de-emphasis of and even mocking belief in God and religious life, etc. etc.  And almost everything has an either implicit or explicit sexual overtone in one way or the other.  The vast majority of media is both post-Christian and anti-Christian.  To watch TV or listen to contemporary music, movies, etc. is to immerse ourselves in the way of Satan and of death. 

It's difficult to say whether our entertainment is a reflection of our times or our times are a reflection of the "entertainment" we allow into our hearts, minds and souls.  It's probably a mixture of both.  Nevertheless, it is a fact that western society is no longer governed by Christian values and morals, and those who do try to live by Christian values are now social outcasts.  I once again turn to Michael Voris on an episode of The Vortex who explains this far better than I can.  You can watch the episode here and/or read the transcript (once again with my comments).   

Wake Up and Man Up!  

vort-2012-07-20  

Hello everyone and welcome to The Vortex where lies and falsehoods are trapped and exposed. I’m Michael Voris coming to you from St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.  

Wake up Catholics. Wake Up! Do you not see what is happening around the world? Pay attention to these prophetic words ..  

“The world in which we live is the battleground of the Church. I believe that we are now living at the end of Christendom. It is the end of Christendom, but not of Christianity. What is Christendom? Christendom is the political, economic, moral, social, legal life of a nation as inspired by the gospel ethic. That is finished. Abortion, the breakdown of the family life, dishonesty, even the natural virtues upon which the supernatural virtues were based, are being discredited.

This is how modern society
views Christianity

Christianity is not at the end. But we are at the end of Christendom. And I believe the sooner we face up to this fact, the sooner we will be able to solve many of our problems. Thirty or forty years ago [now more like 60 to 70 years ago for us], it was very easy to be a Christian. The very air we breathed was Christian. Bicycles could be left on the front lawns; doors could be left unlocked.  

Suddenly, all this has changed; now we have to affirm our faith. We live in a world that challenges us. And many fall away. Dead bodies float downstream; it takes live bodies to resist the current. And this is our summons. We will have to begin a different church.

American "Christianity" has become like an
empty, hollow church with nothing to offer

We are for a moment on a trapeze. We are in between the death of an old civilization and culture and the swing to the beginning of the new. These are the times in which we live. They are therefore wonderful days; marvelous; we should thank God that we live in times like this.”  

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen first uttered those words in 1974. And 38 years later they contain in them a greater urgency than even that giant among bishops may have ever thought possible. The “new church” that Sheen speaks of that we need to begin is only New in the sense that the thoroughly protestantized Catholic Church that has been around for the past 50 years or so is the old church.

Protestantized "Catholic" Church of
 St Peter’s in Boerne, Texas, near San Antonio 

What needs to be resurrected is a ferocity about the faith – an unapologetic Apologetics .. a refusal and rejection of all that is not solidly Catholic in every corner of the Catholic world. This includes cowardly approaches to the Faith by those charged with transmitting and defending it.

If your parish is slowly sapping your faith and the faith of your children .. leave it and get to one that actually nourishes you.  

It is a spiritual felony for leaders to slowly starve their people of the full and authentic truths of Christ made present in the Magisterium of the Church. And it therefore makes accomplices of all inside the Church who continue to peddle this soft glad handing girly approach to the faith .. being afraid to call out leaders who betray the faithful by word or deed .. active or passive.

Too many in the Church .. vast numbers .. feed off a bureaucracy that is corrupt or morally complicit in the downfall of souls. Those who know will not speak out for fear of their own loss of income or standing or prestige. And as the moral and spiritual rot continues to creep along .. they continue broadcasting or writing books or blogs supporting the very bureaucracy sucking the life out of the Church. They aim their barbs and criticisms at enemies of the faith outside the walls .. which takes not the least bit of courage .. but refuse to talk about what they KNOW going on inside the walls – the refusal to allow the Latin Mass to expand for example .. the continued allowance of employment of heretics in universities .. of pastors being allowed to stay pastors as they preach a false gospel of silence on the most pressing issues of the day.

All of this and much more they KNOW and refuse to breathe a word about any of it .. they refuse to sound a call to arms and hide behind lofty sounding terms like Prudence and Charity and Unity. To do so would cost them their speaking engagements and acclaim of ignorant sheep and ability to host radio shows and author books. They will not tell the whole truth and therefore are accomplices in degradation of the Church.  

They are not so much allies as they are parasites. Archbishop Sheen again is instructive here: "A Catholic who does not strive to spread his Faith is a parasite on the life of the Church."  

How can someone claim to be spreading the faith, particularly those with a platform to do so, when they refuse to confront the very forces INSIDE the Church preventing the spread of the Faith .. weak and cowardly bishops, modernist staffers in chanceries and high level offices pushing perverse notions of the Church’s teaching in areas of social doctrine and sexual morality.

The Church of Nice crowd never wants to talk about these people .. the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Meanwhile .. because the wolves are allowed to roam free .. the Church continues to be weak and the world grows more evil as a consequence. Indeed .. the only avenue left for a corpse is to go along with the flow.  

The authentic Church must become a Church of ferocious resistance and great saints .. unafraid to say ALL that needs to be said. How long do the parasites think the host will be alive to feed from? GOD Love you, I’m Michael Voris

Family and friends mourn victim of
Colorado shooting

As the Venerable Archbishop Sheen said in 1974, Christendom - the political, economic, moral, social, legal life of a nation as inspired by the gospel ethic - has ended.  This can be seen most vividly in the horrendous shooting in Colorado, in which a man walked into a movie theater and shot 12 people to death and injured scores of others.  The movie that was showing promoted dark themes and violence, and in fact the title is "The Dark Knight."  Such an incident would not and did not happen while we still lived under Christendom.

 We live in a spiritually dead world that is headed over the cliff into total destruction, and unless we separate ourselves from it and turn to the saving truth of Jesus Christ, the fullness of which can only be found within the true Catholic Church, we will die along with this world.    Times have never been more serious than they are right now, and the stakes - our spiritual eternity - have never been higher.  There is no more time to play games.  We must take a stand and as Michael Voris says here, "The authentic Church must become a Church of ferocious resistance and great saints .. unafraid to say ALL that needs to be said."

Persecution and Martyrdom of the Catholic Church in America

I have stated on this blog more than once that the Catholic Church in America is headed for some very tumultuous times of persecution, and I feel very firmly that the Church itself will be forced to go underground as it will be outlawed by the United States government.  Michael Voris, formerly realcatholictv.com and now churchmilitant.tv, just did an excellent Vortex episode in which he spells out the dangers to the Catholic Church in America in great detail and why we are headed there. Below is the video from the Vortex.  I have also copied the script below, which I think bears a close reading (with my own comments, of course)

Catholic or Patriot?

vort-2012-07-19  

Hello everyone and welcome to The Vortex where lies and falsehoods are trapped and exposed. I’m Michael Voris coming to you the heart of Catholicism .. Rome .. St. Peter’s Square.  

All over the world .. at least the western world .. there is a growing unease that soon and very soon .. Catholics may have to make a choice between their Catholic faith and their country. Between their faith and their patriotism. As Providence plays out .. it would appear that center stage of this tragedy is the United States of America. All the stars are aligning against the Church and don’t let lawsuits filed by the bishops and Catholic colleges fool you.

The clouds are gathering quickly and darkening for the Church in the US. The American civilization has launched a culture war against faithful Catholics .. just as Otto von Bismarck did in the mid to late 19th century in Germany .. and the French government in the 18th century and the English government did in the 16th and 17th centuries. Martyrs were born of those oppressive and tyrannical governments. And martyrs will be born of the American government’s tyranny.  [This is not hyperbole.  This is real.  The Church will be labeled by our government as an evil organization that promotes hatred and bigotry, and there will be violence against Catholics.  And sad to say, some of that very persecution will come from those who call themselves "Catholic."]

This is a burned out church in Indonesia.
Is this what we will be seeing soon in the USA?

When will Catholics wake up and realize that what is working behind the scenes is a battle between Heaven and Hell .. between St. Michael and Lucifer. [And might I add, between Satan and the Queen of the angels and of heaven and earth - Mary, who is Satan's most hated enemy.]  Satan .. being defeated in eternity .. still retains his angelic powers to wage war against the Church in time. And until time comes to an end and human history has played itself out .. Satan will continue to assail the Church .. personally established by Our Blessed Lord on St. Peter .. whom he renamed .. Rock.  

Mary crushing the serpent

Once again .. the bastard destroyer has seized hold of the powers of the state and is bringing them to bear on the faithful. [Take note - Satan is waging war on the faithful, not on "faux" Catholics.]  There are still unresolved matters left to be worked out .. details really .. in Obama’s diabolical health care law. But at the White House .. Obama and Catholic traitors are in full scale advance .. putting in place their view of the world in which the Catholic Church has no part .. the authentic Catholic Church that is. One day .. and soon .. Catholics in America .. who have been lulled into a false notion that you can be both a good American and a good Catholic .. are going to have to choose between their Church and their country.

We have reached this point for many reasons .. but one that cannot be overlooked is how Church leadership rushed headlong and continues to do so .. into a vision that a government which promotes a vast array of evil can AT THE SAME TIME .. be reasoned with to reach consensus on other questions of morality.  

When a man named Obama stood at center stage of the US Catholic world in May 2009 and declared to raucous cheers from Notre Dame graduates, parents and faculty .. that common ground needed to be reached on questions of abortion and freedom of conscience .. he was lying through his teeth and he knew it. He used the softened up Catholic mind .. the Church of Nice .. to present a soft side of evil .. a side designed to be swallowed hook line and sinker by spineless and delusional leaders who TO THIS DAY .. still actively promote some of his legislation .. suffering under an ignorant and less than fully informed understanding of Catholic social doctrine.  [I think that Michael Voris is actually being kind here, giving the benefit of the doubt to these leaders that they actually don't know they are making a pact with the devil.  I'm not sure I would be that kind.]

These enemies of the faith .. like Obama .. but certainly not just him .. Pelosi .. Biden Kennedy and hundreds of others come to mind .. these enemies of the faith have been allowed to carry out their assaults against the common good of the culture PRECISELY because so many Catholic bishops and lay staff around the country for decades now have refused to stare down evil and call it out for what it is. They have refused to decry a law because it is intrinsically evil .. meaning rotten to the core JUST BECAUSE of WHAT IT IS.

Even now .. this ridiculous idea of challenging the health care contraception mandate because it infringes on religious freedom is patently absurd. The law is evil .. NOT JUST UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Who cares if it’s unconstitutional?!? It’s evil because it promotes an evil; namely contraception. That’s why the law is bad – not because it may (OR MAY NOT) violate some arcane clause in a 200+ year old document that only means what a majority of nine judges say it means.  [The Fortnight of Freedom was wrong and even laughable because it was about the wrong issue.  As Michael Voris says, this is not about freedom or the constitution, this is about good versus evil.]

This obfuscates the issue. It's not about
freedom - this is about good versus evil,
and the bishops will never win until they admit this fact.

Here’s the reality .. whether most bishops say it clearly or not.  American Catholics will soon be facing a decision whether to cooperate with the state or stand by their faith and pay the consequences. We have come to this because too many leaders have betrayed their high calling to preach unabashedly and untiringly the unalterable truths of Christ. And even now .. they still refuse to make pubic profession of their full guilt and do something about it.  [This is one of the most important statements Catholics today, especially in the United States, can hear.  We must be prepared to literally lay down our lives for what we believe in, because that time is coming, and very soon.]

So it is now up to the laity .. the few who may still have some touchstone to the faith to stand before judges and courts and bureaucrats and pay the price for Christ. Catholics in America may soon have to discover another way to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave .. something America has not been since it unleashed the slaughter of tens of millions of pre-born fellow citizens. Make no mistake .. the diabolical has control of the halls of government and is waiting for the opportunity to reveal itself fully.

At the rate things are progressing .. we shouldn’t have to wait too long. Its time to prepare ourselves my fellow Catholics. Immerse yourself in the faith, the sacraments, mind and soul so that when your time comes to choose .. you will choose the way of martyrdom .. however it comes to you and me. GOD Love you, I’m Michael Voris

We are living in the most serious of times, when it is not only a matter of physical life and death, but of even more importance, our eternity.  As Michael Voris said, we need to immerse ourselves in the Catholic faith, partake of the sacraments as often as possible, LEARN what our faith teaches so we can stand up to those who wish to destroy us.  The Catholic Church is the ark of salvation to the world, we are the only place that truth and life can be found.  We must turn to our Lord and to our Lady for the strength to survive the evil assault that we are now experiencing, and the much greater assault that awaits us in the near future. 

Looks Can Be Deceiving

I am reading a book at the moment entitled "End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life" by Fr. Charles Arminjon and published in the 1880's.  St. Therese of Liseux read this book when she was 14 years old and said that it changed her life.  The first section of the book deals with the end of the world and the Anti Christ.  The next section deals with the resurrection of the body.  At one point, Fr. Arminjon discusses our inability to judge one another, and that we are often misled by each other.  From the book:

Most men, even the wisest and most enlightened, are easily outwitted and deceived by others. They do not discern the innermost depths of souls, and cannot reach what is secret and interior in them; hence, it happens that they generally form their judgments on appearances, on what is visible and exterior. Again, it follows that good men are often treated with undeserved severity, that they are unappreciated and injured in their reputation. On the other hand, the wickedness of a large number of men remains unknown, they everywhere enjoy public esteem and trust, and the world accords them that consideration and praise which is due to the just alone. So a judgment is necessary that exposes every pretense, unmasks all hypocrisy, and lays bare hidden ruses and all false and base virtues.

In our world today, things are often not as they seem.   Certainly that is true in movies and entertainment, where nothing is real except the heartache and misery that is the lives of far too many in that industry.  Politicians are always deceiving us, pretending to be something they're not, keeping their true nature hidden, as in the case of former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, who presented himself as a fine upstanding young man when the truth was, while he was in his congressional office, he was exchanging pornographic text messages and tweets with young women despite the fact that he was a married man.  He is only one of literally hundreds of politicians down through the decades who were not the person they presented to their constituents.  We think of President Bill Clinton and his affair with a young intern in the oval office, or Gov. Elliot Spitzer of New York who fought against "corruption" as he saw it, yet at the same time was deeply involved in using prostitutes and even using government resources to procure their services.  The list is never ending.

We are all guilty of hypocrisy to one degree or another.  It is a part of the fallen human condition.  We even lie to ourselves in refusing to look honestly at who and what we are.  That is one of the reasons why Examination of Conscience and the Sacrament of Confession are so important.  We use God's Law and the teachings of the Church as a mirror and hold this up to ourselves.  Anything in us that is not in conformity to God's Law and the teachings of the church is sin.  We do not go by the standards of what the world defines as "good", because that will lead us off the track every time.

The readings from today's Traditional Latin Mass, the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, put the fear of God into me and made me realize just how easy it is to deceive others and even ourselves as to our true spiritual condition.  We must be fighting every moment against our fallen nature and never let pride enter in.  Pride is the most poisonous spiritual weapon in Satan's arsenal.  Pride means we start looking at ourselves and saying, you know, I'm not so bad.  In fact, I'm pretty good.  Pride is the original sin of Satan when he said, "Non Serviam" (I will not serve).  Pride is saying to God, I don't need you, I can do this on my own.  We may actually fool ourselves and others into believing we are something we aren't, but we are not fooling our Creator, and someday we will have to come to terms before the throne of Christ with who and what we truly are and face the sin we refused to acknowledge during our time on this earth. 

Below is the Epistle for the Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

Rom. 6 : 19-23 - Brethren: I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

To be a part of the sinful world around us means to  be in servitude to Satan.  Satan lures us in by appealing to our pride and desire to feel good about ourselves, and he will give immediate satisfaction in following him.  With Christ's way, as he told us, "narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and few there be who find it."  We must always remember the sin we came out of and the deadness of soul that we experienced before receiving the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

The gospel is Matthew 7:15-21

At that time: Jesus spake unto his disciples: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

The words that pierced my heart are "Not every one that saith until me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."  We must never assume we have it made and that we are on the sure road to heaven.  As a very wise priest once said to me, Satan is rarely in the problem.  He is almost always in the solution.  Satan doesn't care what your problem is.  His tactic is to lead you to the wrong solution, and one very wrong solution is to think that while still here on this earth, we are assured of our place in heaven.  Be always mindful of your fallen human nature, which will be with you until the day that you die.  Constantly cry out to our Lord and to our Blessed Mother to keep you on that straight and narrow path which leads to heaven.  Don't ever think for one moment that you can make it on your own strength.  As the Apostle Paul said, "Pray without ceasing."  (I Thes. 5:17)

From the Breviary Readings today:

A Homily by St. Hilary the Bishop

The Lord warneth us that we must rate the worth of flattering words and seeming meekness, by the fruits which they that manifest such things bring forth in their works ; in other words, that we should look, in order to see what a man is, not at his professions, but at his deeds. For there are many whose sheep's clothing is but a disguise of wolfish ravening. And so the Lord asketh : Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. In which words the Lord teacheth us that men are a like case ; evil men bring not forth good fruits, and hereby are we to know them. Lip-service alone winneth not the kingdom of heaven, nor is everyone that saith unto Christ, Lord, Lord, an heir thereof.

What use is there in thus calling the Lord by his title Lord? Would he not be Lord of all the same, whether or not we called him so? What holiness is there in this ascription of a name, when the true way to enter into the kingdom of heaven is to do the will of our Father, who is in heaven? Saith the Lord Christ : Many will say to me in that day : Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy Name? Already here doth the Lord rebuke the deceit of the false prophets, and the feigning of the hypocrites, who take glory to themselves because of the power of their words, or their prophesying in teaching, or their casting out of devils, or such-like mighty works.

Because of all these things they promise unto themselves the kingdom of heaven, as though in their words and works any good thing were their own and not rather the mighty working of that God upon whom they call; for it is reading that bringeth knowledge of doctrine, and the Name of Christ that driveth out devils. That which is needed on our part to win that blessed eternity, that of our own which we must give, is to will to do right, to turn away from all evil. to obey with our whole heart the commandments laid on us from heaven, and so to become the friends of God. It should be ours, rather to do God's will, than to boast of God's power. And we must put off from us, and thrust away, such as are by their wicked works already estranged from his friendship.

Why Would A Guy Want To Marry A Guy?

In 1959, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon starred in a movie entitled, "Some Like It Hot", about two musicians in the 1920's who witness the St. Valentine Day's Massacre in Chicago and have to run for their lives from the Mob.  They decide to pretend they are women in an all-girl's band, with the idea that no one would like for them in an all-girl's band.  A very rich man becomes interested in Jack Lemmon's character, thinking he is a woman.  Jack Lemmon does all he can to discourage the rich playboy without actually telling him he is a man, not a woman, but without success.  The playboy proposes marriage.  Below is the scene where Jack Lemmon tells Tony Curtis he is engaged:

Tony Curtis's question, "Why would a guy want to marry a guy?"  was considered ludicrous and funny in 1959.  How our society has changed in 50 years. 

As I have previously posted here, I believe that militant homosexuals are the biggest threat the Catholic Church faces when it come to persecution.  They know that the Catholic Church is their enemy because the Church will never accept homosexuality as an accepted lifestyle. Every other organization and church is slowly giving into their agenda, little by little, starting by no longer labeling homosexuality as a deviant and sinful lifestyle.   Once that hurdle is overcome, it is only a matter of time before homosexuality is considered just another lifestyle choice, and anyone who disagrees with this is labeled a bigot and homophobe and guilty of a hate crime.

Acceptance of homosexuality is following the same path of acceptance as that of artificial birth control in the early 20th Century.  Protestant religions at one time were as much against artificial birth control as Catholics still are.  But then came the  Seventh Lambeth Conference in 1930  when the Anglican Communion  issued the first statement permitting birth control "when there is a clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood and where there is a morally sound reason for avoiding complete abstinence."  How there can ever be a "morally sound reason for avoiding complete abstinence" is beyond my understanding.  Be that as it is, this was the true beginning of the sexual revolution. The primary purpose of sex was no longer viewed as procreation but as just a pleasurable experience.  By separating sex from procreation, the door was opened to every kind of perversion possible.  And that is exactly what we have seen in our world.  Acceptance of birth control has led to almost every evil we see around us, and that includes acceptance of homosexual sex.  Birth control also leads automatically to abortion, the ultimate "birth control."  But that is for another discussion.

1997 Time Magazaine Cover showing
Ellen DeGeneres "out of the closet"

As little as 20 years ago, homosexuals were still not accepted in general society.  The real breakthrough came when a popular comedienne, Ellen DeGeneres, "came out" on her television show and in real life as a lesbian.  She was and is a very likable person.  The public felt a little queasy about it, but they liked her and so they felt to reject her because of a deviant lifestyle just wasn't fair.  And we shouldn't reject her personally.  But that doesn't mean we should accept her sinful lifestyle as normal.  By accepting her as a lesbian, we are actually helping to condemn her to hell.  After proclaiming to the world that she was a lesbian, the MSM then followed her in her relationships with other women just as though it was as normal as following the relationships of heterosexual couples. 

It was this act that broke down the barriers in television and throughout mainstream society.  Now almost every TV show has a "gay" character, and we are to accept them as just as another person and ignore the fact that we are accepting a sinful and deviant lifestyle.   We are to think nothing of it whenever anyone proudly declares that they are homosexual.  In fact, we are not to be just tolerant, but we must be approving and supportive of them.  Anything less than that is considered hateful and bigoted. 

Mark Andrew, left, and Bishop Gene Robinson during
their private civil union ceremony

In 2003, the Episcopal Church elected its first openly homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson.  He was unabashedly homosexual, living with his partner.  He and his partner were married in June 2008.  Robinson's comment was "I always wanted to be a June bride."  A friend of mine, who is a member of the Episcopal church, was horrified a year ago when she found out that her minister married his partner here in New York when it became legal, and he proudly announced his "marriage" at a church service.  The minister's partner was his assistant of many years. 

Just as the Episcopal/Anglican church led the way in the acceptance of birth control in the 20th Century, they are leading the way to acceptance of homosexuality in the 21st Century.  And they have now become the first major church to say they will bless same sex "marriages."   The United Church of Christ, which has a little over one million members, was the first church to accept same sex unions in 2005.  The door has been swung wide open, and the dominoes will fall as other churches follow suit.

Below is an article from msnbc.com regarding the Episcopal Church's recognition of same sex marriage. 

Episcopal Church becomes biggest US church to bless gay unions

By Becky Bratu, msnbc.com

The U.S. Episcopal Church became the biggest church in the United States to approve a provisional rite for blessing gay unions after its House of Deputies gave its final approval Tuesday.

The resolution passed with 78 percent approval in the lay order and 76 percent in the clergy order. The House of Deputies is made up of both clergy and lay people.

In the lay order, 86 deputations voted in favor, 19 against; five were divided. In the clergy order, 85 deputations voted in favor, 22 opposed the resolution and four were divided.

The proposed blessing liturgy was initially approved by the Church's House of Bishops Monday during the 77th General Convention in Indianapolis, with 111 votes in favor to 41 opposed and three abstentions.

Deputies of opposite views spoke in alternate succession Tuesday afternoon, with those against the proposal urging more time to consider a decision of such magnitude. [Did anyone think to bring up the teaching of Almighty God on this subject?  I guess that just doesn't enter into the question.]
The Rev. Sharon Lewis, alternate deputy of the Diocese of Southwest Florida, said the liturgy is more than a “pastoral provision.”

"Let us move together in the heart of Christ, not turn this great big old church that I love so much on a dime,” Lewis said.  [At least Jesus Christ got some mention.] 

Speaking in favor of the blessings, Deputy Jenna Guy from Iowa said the resolution is important to the younger generation of Episcopalians, adding that passing the resolution would bring more people into the Church.  [The Episcopal/Anglican church is imploding, losing people at a rapid rate, many of them becoming Catholics.  They actually think that by becoming more secular and less obedient to God than they already are that this will help their church grow?  We are watching them dig their own grave.]

"It’s always with great pride that I tell [people] of the inclusive nature of this Church,” Guy said. [I guess they don't consider God to be very "inclusive."  I Cor 6:9 - "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals."]

A deputy from Alaska added, "There is never anything wrong with celebrating love.”  [This shows the exact problem with protestantism.  They have no authority but their own. They make up their own rules as they go along, including defining "love."] 

The new Episcopal same-sex liturgy is called "The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant."

In the proposed rite, each person would make a vow to the other, exchange rings and be declared "bound to one another in a holy covenant, as long as they both shall live." The liturgy is expected to go into effect for provisional use starting the first week of Advent -- beginning on Dec. 2, 2012 -- and will undergo a review process before the next General Convention in 2015. Congregations and clergy wishing to use the liturgy would need the permission of their bishops. [How interesting that they choose the season of Advent - which is the preparation of our Lord's first coming to earth - in which to implement this anti-Christian practice.]

In states that currently allow same-sex civil marriage, such as Massachusetts and New York, Episcopalians may already bless same-sex marriages, but there is no formal church-wide liturgy. Commitment ceremonies for gay couples are allowed elsewhere in the church at the discretion of the local bishop.

The Episcopal Church is an independent U.S.-based church affiliated with the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church has about 2 million members, most in the United States.

It is not the only major U.S. denomination considering same-sex marriage issues.

The United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination with about 1 million members voted in 2005 to support full civil and religious marriage equality for same-sex couples.

The U.S. Presbyterian Church on Friday narrowly rejected a proposal for a constitutional change that would redefine marriage as a union between "two people" rather than between a woman and a man. The church, with around 2 million members, currently allows ministers to bless gay unions but prohibits them from solemnizing gay civil marriages.

There is one institution in the world that will never accept homosexuality as right and good, and that is the Catholic Church.  That is not to say that there are not elements within the Church that would like to see Catholics join up with the rest of the world in going against God's law, as can be seen in the picture at left.  But the Magesterium of the church will always stand strong.  As a result, faithful Catholics can expect to suffer terrible persecution for standing up for what is right.  This is something we really need to pray about and ask for God's grace to do what is right while the rest of the world follows Satan in his deceptions. 

Our world has never been more anti-Christian than it is right now, and more specifically, anti-Catholic, as we see so many of the Protestant churches going along with the evil agenda in the world.  When I was a kid in the 60's and 70's, it was cool to be "anti-establishment."  Well, if you are a faithful Catholic in these present evil times, you will be anti-establishment, and no one will think you are cool.  We all may pay a heavy price for following the Church, but it is something we must be willing to do.  This is the cross we have been given to bear at this time.  And as I have posted before, we must never allow ourselves to hate those who persecute us.  As our Saviour told us in the Sermon on the Mount, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."