Thursday, December 31, 2009

In the beginning was the Word

I should be very happy and excited because I am writing my first book, and just as I suspected, I am having several ideas for books for children which I will also write simultaneously.

Today, though, what I really want to say here is what the daily reading from the Holy Gospel is. It's from the book of John. From St. John chapter 1:1-18. Tomorrow is my new beginning, beginning with the One who began all there is. I hope your new year begins with Him, too :)


In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.

A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.

The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.

John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me
because he existed before me.’

Indeed, from his fulness we have, all of us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart,
who has made him known.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Hanging with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph


Tonight, after what seemed a trying and difficult day, I went to the Byzantine Catholic Liturgy. My children noticed right away that the Blessed Virgin Mary window high up at the top of the church looked blue. I looked at it and thought that perhaps she was sad like me. Somebody had put a blue light bulb up there. Well, it worked for me. I felt like it was a sign that the saints know how difficult my life is right now, and that they care about me. The Blessed Virgin Mary was interceding for me.

Perhaps because I had written an article to honor Father Joseph, the demons were fierce in battle against me. People hear about bad things that priests have done, and my article shows a very good and holy man of God who is a priest. The Holy Spirit really said a lot through me in that piece: http://www.examiner.com/x-4317-Denver-Roman-Catholic-Examiner~y2009m12d14-Look-out-Santa-Father-Joseph-laughs-jovially-too

If I had been in better spirits, I'm sure that I would have remembered more of what was said by Father Michael. I know that it was fascinating, that I'd never heard of such a thing before. And that I wanted to know more about it. I also knew that there was no way that I was in any state of mind to properly remember what he was saying to us, as Father Michael gave us the days of the week being designated for certain saints and angels to intercede for us. Yet I did pick up the calendar to have the saint days so that I know who I am supposed to pray to as I will now join in with the rest of the world-wide church community. Wow! I never knew this before. And I will pray with the Latin saint as well.

This is the first and only time that I went to the Holy Byzantine Liturgy and just felt the need to be comforted by being there. I go there to worship God the best way I know how. Today, I did that, but it was different. I needed to be there for me, too. And you know, it's a funny thing--it's the first time that I was ever in Holy Protection of the Mother of God that I thought it could have used a few more icons. Imagine that, there were so many bare spots on the walls that I'd never noticed before!

Today I am blue like that light bulb. The light is still there within me, of course, but it is darkened and without joy. And with this blue attitude, I saw more of the white walls than the many holy icons of the saints. Perspective change. Interesting. A different view of reality. A different experience brought on because of what is inside of me. The saints did not seem so powerful tonight. In fact, they seemed fewer. And smaller.

But they were still there. If I hadn't gone to the holy Liturgy, they would have seemed altogether invisible. I'm glad the Virgin Mary window was blue tonight. It helps me remember that to all of the holy saints, I exist and I am not invisible. We need to go to church and be with others who believe. And we need to see our holy saints. I thank them all for being there for me today. Sometimes you just need to hang out with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Like salve on a wound, it really helps :).

Thursday, December 10, 2009

If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father

Jesus said that, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father."
                                                                                                


Google look up now, being Catholic, Scriptural references are not memorized for destination, though the meat of the matter resides within my heart. Got it--St. John 14:9. So true. Just a nugget of truth to chew on while we enjoy something funny and profound stated very sincerely from the mouth of a babe.

The following little quip is found on the website for Holy Protection Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Church in Denver: http://www.holyprotection.org/

A kindergarten teacher was walking around observing her classroom of children while they were drawing pictures. As she got to one girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.

The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."

The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like."

Without looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."

Still having difficulties with posting videos but here is a link for an appropriate and awesome one. Meet Akiane. Akiane was born to atheists who are now Christians. Without any teaching about God, she introduced her own parents to Him around the time she could form sentences. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQlZv29E4_0

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Advancing traditional conservative beliefs without apology


Faithful Catholics are so misunderstood. There are also many Catholics with an identity crisis. Agreeing that the horror of butchering the innocent through abortion is a necessary evil. Believing that religion is nothing more than old-fashioned superstition. Yet these people call themselves Catholics. Catholics for homosexuality. Catholics for modern relativistic thought and lifestyle. In short, the majority of Catholics in America are wayward lost souls.

The media has poisoned the minds of our young for many years. The public education system has done the same. Everything exists and is shared with God left out. Even in Italy, crosses have now been stripped from public places as if this is good for all people to have liberty from religious influence. (However, this topic in detail will be revisited in another post.)

At the present time, the atheists are doing everything that they can right now to oust God from every place and from every mind, as willing vessels of the deceiver. They believe that they are fighting for their own voice in a place where Christianity is proved to them to be a farce, and allows them little freedom to have a world without the law of God. They have asserted themselves not as noble heroes to emulate with great compassionate deeds, but as a vile army of sarcastic voices all about making a mockery out of God and out of those of us who have faith.

What then follows unfortunately, is that their disbelief is contagious. On top of that, those who call themselves Christian are not walking the walk, but only talking the talk. So who do our young people believe? They believe what is being put before them, that Christians are hypocrites, being provided with yet another example of such. Of course, there is little mention of pagans committing crimes against humanity and horrific attacks by extremist Muslims practicing Islamic terror. There is nothing shared in the secular media about the sinfulness of all mankind.

In fact, our great nation is under attack from the forces of evil from every direction. The faces change constantly to make the unwitting accept evil as good. Standing against this onslaught, taking my place in the holy battle, with God's help, the reason for this blog is to shed light on things, and to gain insight from others who are also soldiers of the Light. There are many things to think about and to share--and to change, if we are able. There are many issues to write about as evil rages on in so many forms.

It is with a heavy heart that this first post is created. Opinions abound. This blog exists for openness, clarification, and truth. What is truth? Who is foolish and who is wise? These questions become resolved in the source of wisdom and truth--our God.

Those who do not have much use for God, yet have conservative values, have learned to distinguish good from evil mostly through parents or grandparents who believed in God. Yet children are now being raised without any knowledge of these values and principles being Judeo-Christian at their root. Being a Christian does not make one a good and holy person, however, Christianity does create a solid basis for knowing what is right and wrong. That taking the life of an unborn innocent human being is cruel and inhumane murder, among other things.

Presently, the Senate is in the process of trying to force a health care reform upon the citizens of the United States, and the immoral legislation of having to pay for abortions whether one agrees with this so-called "choice" or not. This is evil. Morals are legislated. So, too, is immorality. Those who say this isn't true are lying to themselves.

It is time to stand up and take action against these types of evils. Whether in our Churches, in our political arena, in the many venues of media, in public education, and in every other place that compromising our values and principles rears it's ugly head, be encouraged to stand with me to expose evil and pray against evil and to actively do something to halt or prevent evil.

Archbishop Chaput of Denver is a signatory of the Manhattan Declaration. He stated:
“Now and always, we need to trust in God; and then we also need to act. Right here, right now, in this country, the work of organizing and struggling in the public square for what we believe belongs to us. That means all of us, and each of us."


It is time to hold one another accountable. It is time to repent. It is time to return to God. It is time to defend the faith. And it is time to take our country back! One place to begin is by signing the Manhattan Declaration available here: http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/
May God continue to bless America. Amen.

(If and when I figure out how to add a video, I'll add this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xptMzgsyBrQ )