The Monumental question mark of our age: human dignity and how to respect it – A female’s point of view: Part 1 Wake up people

After celebrating Mass, two Bishops were emerging from a church when an immodestly dressed prostitute passed by. The first Bishop focused his eyes on the ground so as to guard them; the second did not and stared forward. “Brother Bishop,” exclaimed the first, “what on earth are you doing?! Avert your eyes!” He was shocked that his brother Bishop continued to focus on the woman. But when he looked at his brother Bishop to scold him once more, he noticed there were tears in his eyes that began to stream down his face. “How tragic,” said the second Bishop, “such beauty sold to the lusts of men!”


Christopher West, a prominent Catholic apologetic and evangelist whose focus is primarily on Pope John Paul the II’s Theology of the Body often tells this story. He then poses a few questions: Which Bishop did the right thing? 
 The first Bishop certainly did the right thing in practicing custody of the eyes so as to avoid a mere occasion of sin. The second Bishop was able to look at that woman with the eyes of a father seeing his daughter or a brother seeing his sister. Rather than being tempted to lust, he regarded her in complete dignity as a human being, and his heart broke at her shameless display. Sadly, both practices that the Bishops’ upheld which many try to uphold today are mocked in our society or are completely misunderstood. Some typical secular labels to the Bishop’s reaction would be that they are prude, judgmental, and suppressing a natural, carnal desire. Since the sexual revolution, we have seen a rapid degradation of the dignity of the human person, especially towards women. It has bore into our society a highly sexualized moral relativism, radical feminism, and a reduction of the human being as a mere means to an end. This crime against humanity has influenced so many aspects of our culture in an incredibly negative manner. There are many facets of this umbrella that we can pinpoint to a source and that is the "father of lies and the murderer from the beginning", Satan. Does Satan have domineering control over us as if we are mindless puppets? Certainly not!! We have a free will after all. However for the presumptuous and the hardened of heart, he (Satan) has done well to influence the thinking of others and has shifted it on an evil path. We cannot deny the evil of this mode of thinking. 

Consider the mass genocide of our time, abortion, where it is posed as a right that a mother should choose to hack, mangle, and finally destroy a gift that was God given to her in the womb. We have a societal acceptance of pornography that is filtering into the lives of both sexes and is eliminating the beauty of humanity and virginity by sexually imposing these views on younger and younger generations: ex. the sexualization of children, i.e. Bikini’s for infants and children, thongs for toddlers, and a constant battle for women to look younger highlighting Teenagers as sexually desirable for men using their virginity as the target. Virginity itself is being attacked as it is consistently portrayed as a  “lacking” of something “fulfilling” therefore you’re a “loser” for being so inexperienced. 

Also, for those who try to avoid these temptations, it is difficult to even enter a supermarket to buy fruits and vegetables without these messages entering our minds at the check out.  Cosmopolitan, a popular secular magazine features articles that have made their focus predominantly geared towards sex. Every single magazine headline reads something about sex in at least 24-size bold font, just in case you might miss it. Simply log onto Cosmos’ website and it is entirely dedicated to sex articles almost explicitly, not to mention it includes a feature “sex position of the week.”

This subject is so over done maybe it seems like we are banging our heads against the wall or maybe it isn’t spoken of enough. We can talk and talk and preach and preach all we want but will anything ever change? The main message is for BOTH sexes, and that is to wake up people!!!!!! This has gone far enough and nothing is going to change unless we step up and do something about it. In his recent address to the public, the Pope specifically challenges us to throw out the notion of being   “casual Catholics.” The Holy Father challenges us to step up and take a stand and to be a light amidst the darkness that floods this world like smoke.

Men, you have a responsibility to respect and protect the dignity of ALL women by guarding your eyes, minds, speech and hearts this includes being in the presence and outside of the presence of women. The level that men have been reduced to is no different than that of a dog humping away at a stuffed animal because it is within their “nature” to be sex crazed. Of course, in today’s society, its just "natural" that men must have sex frequently and if not then they must be on a masturbating rampage and of course they can’t control their eyes because they are so animalistic in their carnal desires. I hope with every fiber of my being that men have not accepted this pathetic portrayal and understand that they too were also made for something greater than this. If that’s not enough; I sure do hope that this view of men is down right offensive to them. At least have the dignity, integrity and respect for yourself to evaluate your self worth…because when you’re dead and shriveled up in a coffin what does it matter how much of these things you’ve managed to accomplish?

Women, you have a responsibility to uphold your dignity, respect yourself, and reflect your self-giving love in showing men how to love properly and giving to them what can be rightfully given when it’s the proper time. Do not diminish your value by exposing your body, which reveals something sacred. Whether you realize that fact or not it’s true so let it sink in. Your appearance and this pathetic standard that it’s more important to value sexiness in order to be loved is just a travesty in the name of Who you were made by. Look at how the media advertises to women, the general message is “you are inadequate here’s a product or method to repair your disfigurement.” And so, we have the problems we have today where women allow this to define them and then we end up with the mentality “If you want it get it! If you’ve got it flaunt it!”  What an atrocity in the eyes of the Creator it must be to see His creatures behaving this way when He created them for so much more. 

This age that we live in, consumed by the “new atheism” “relativism” and “realism” must come to a close because the fact of the matter is..these current “isms” fall only on the popular opinions of our age and not on solid Truth. The Truth who IS a person, who IS God and who DID die for our sins and rose in triumphant glory over death so that we may have eternal life!  This separation of faith and logic, religious and science, fact and myth needs to end. There is logical, scientific, fact based truth attributed to faith that has slowly been revealed over the course of history. If any of these so-called scholars would bother to do the research they would find the answer. If your going to solidly conclude based on your own opinion that there is no truth then that is the way it’s going to be..in your own mind! It’s time to dismantle this mess. I hope that you will join me in this journey and I pray it gives you a tiny source of inspiration to search for yourself and contribute in helping to change the course of history as we are making it. This battle that is being fought is slowly being lost because we will not side with God, ask Him to change our hearts, and beg and plead for Him to change the hearts and ways of others to lead all souls to Christ. I hope to cover a multitude of issues in the upcoming blogs that relate closely to the dignity of the human person and discuss and clarify what Holy Mother Church teaches and why it ultimately is whole truth and nothing but the truth based on Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium. 

The Power of Prayer

The Power of Prayer

*The intent of this blog is to briefly detail what prayer is and in a possible future blog to discuss how to pray.*

How many of us would agree that we have a strong and solid prayer life? If your answer is yes then congratulations! You are on your way to humble and holy saintliness! However, there are many of us that might sadly admit that our prayer life could be stronger or it may even be nearly non-existent. Many may struggle with the basic concept of prayer. What is prayer, exactly? The word prayer originates from the Latin word "precari" which means to plead, to beg, or ask earnestly. That may seem obvious since we ask God of many things amidst prayer. It's simply in our human nature to ask the Divine for intervention. We have been informed by our Lord and Savior to do as such, " Jesus answered, 'Have faith in God. In truth I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, "Be pulled up and thrown into the sea," with no doubt in his heart, but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. I tell you therefore, everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already and it will be yours. " (Mark 11: 22-24)

Naturally our mind might gravitate to a more materialistic aspect and beg God for a million dollars. We did speak in a previous blog that God always wishes to give and only desires the very best for us. Jesus did say ask and you shall receive but God will not grant our prayers if those very things we ask for may be of great detriment to our eternal salvation. On the other hand, a prayer that is said with great doubt in the Lord or mistrust may deem our prayers null and void. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes prayer as a three fold means of attaining union with God. 

St. Therese of Lisieux described prayer very eloquently, " For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."  This details perfectly what the Catechism ( 2558- 2565) expounds upon relating to prayer : Prayer is first and foremost a gift from God, an act of commitment and love for God, and an act of attaining union with God.

Prayer as God's Gift (2559)

He who humbles himself shall be exalted. Humility is the foundation of building and executing a deep and meaningful prayer life. Jesus as the living example of humbleness lived a life dedicated for the reparation of God's sons and daughters (us) so much so that he paid the ultimate price by sacrificing himself for our salvation. Approaching God with the humblest of hearts shall be rewarded greatly by God as He dispenses grace to us so that we may remain strong in our faith. Prayer increases the amount of graces given by God when we are unable to attend Mass or Adoration (during the week), and that grace transforms our hearts and strengthens our spiritual life. 

Prayer as Covenant (2562)

We can utter words and pray from our minds but if we do not pray to God from our heart then our prayers are in vain. Scripture mentions praying from the heart more than a thousand times! If this doesn't stress the importance of praying and truly meaning it then we're not sure what does! Surrender is at the heart of Christianity. No human person is able to understand the human heart, not even their own like God can. Therefore, unifying yourself to God’s will through prayer and learning to trust the Lord will bring peace and contentment.

Prayer as Communion (2565)

Prayer is a way of attaining communion in God’s love with the unity of the Holy Trinity. The grace of the Kingdom is "the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit."( St. Gregory of Nazianzus) Therefore, prayer as a habit, is a way for us to remain in the presence of the Trinity and in communion with God. Communion is possible because through the Sacrament of Baptism we are united to Christ, as members of His Body, the holy Catholic Church. This union with Christ through Baptism bestows a great strength to our prayers. Our prayers united in communion with the Trinity through the union of God’s love and our Baptism extends through the Body that is the Church.

Hence, we must never underestimate the power of prayer. Just imagine the effect if we ALL prayed as Christ told us to, “as if our prayers have already been answered.” That doubtful premonition that lingers in the pit of our stomach could often be labeled as distrust. Imagine God, being all good, all merciful and loving, knowing this feeling remains in us, not trusting that He will do what is best for us. That should strike a cord of sorrow in you, because God can only do good. God wills everything for the advancement in our journey to eternal salvation. Never forget that the purpose of existing on this earth is to live as Christ, and to bring others to His all-encompassing Love and Mercy for their eternal salvation. We exist for the other, and our primary interest remains in the delight of us all sharing eternal bliss together. We must truly consider what great damage our inconsideration and sins against others do to Christ. In essence we are adding more wounds to His precious Holy Body.. both figuratively and literally. Through the mighty Grace and spiritual power that is received through the Sacraments and Adoration, to the weekly sustaining means that is prayer that unites us to Christ, let us learn what it really means to pray and reflect on what it truly means to live in Christ, as Christ lived…ALWAYS being considerate of others’ needs before our own.

Matthew 25: 40 “ Amen I say to you, whatever you did to the least of my brethren, you did to me.”

Redemptive Suffering

My brothers and sisters in Christ, there is much that can be misunderstood and misinterpreted of redemptive suffering. Many of us as faulty human beings jump to the conclusion when things go awry that God is punishing us in some way. This misunderstanding must be immediately dismissed because it is simply not true. For many, not knowing or understanding the great graces that come with suffering ask God in an accusatory way, “ Why are You doing this to me?” or “If you are described as a loving God, how could You allow this to happen?” When disaster strikes or life takes a turn that you were not expecting why does God get blamed for this? Why does He get persecuted? Yet, when we need help He is the first one we turn to. We are all living examples of the prodigal son. We demand and demand and ask and ask so many things of our Lord who is Love. When He freely gives and bestows His gifts upon us, we take them and run and squander them. How ungrateful we little humans are so unaware of God's Love and Mercy. Even so we still commit offenses (sins) against Him, wounding Him deeper each time. Still, He welcomes us back with open arms. As the Disciple John describes Him, “God is Love!” He does not punish us. Instead, God can be described as my partner in Christ, Paul, describes Him," a gentleman." God as the Gentleman He is, has so much respect for our own free will. In this confused and severely mislead secular society we live in, love is terribly misconstrued and interpreted. Instead of love being approached as “what can I do for you?” it’s “what am I getting out of this?” This serious misconception of love puts our understanding of suffering out of perspective. If we view love as being something that only exists to please us rather than giving to the other then it is fair to say in turn we would feel an extreme sense of self-pity when we face difficult situations.  

Suffering humbles and softens the hardened heart. Be not deceived by the adversary! Pride opposes humility. We can clearly see where in history pride bore it’s existence. In temporal berth, pride stems from the scenario in the garden, the scenario that is deemed as the fall of man. Encouraged by Satan, who was later described by Jesus as the “father of lies.” Pride is seen as the capital sin through which all other mortal sins stem. Pride is the ultimate evil that opposes the greatest virtue. Just like all capital sins stem from pride the same in virtues except all virtues stem from humility. Humility is a virtue that calls us to accept and carry our cross as followers of Christ.

Mark 8:34 “ He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life?” Indeed, what does one gain by forfeiting his life? Is it not completely obvious? It is blatantly obvious indeed, how Satan has worked in this secular world. He has infiltrated the minds of many with self-pity in the case of suffering rather than giving gratitude towards God.

When reflecting on the lives of the saints, it is apparent that they all suffered greatly. St. Padre Pio was often physically attacked by demons and the devil as well as suffered through the stigmata. Often these saints willfully accepted the suffering. Through their suffering they were granted many graces to sustain them in times of difficulty. Suffering whether it manifests in sickness, emotional, physical, mental or spiritual hardship allows us to unite with that of our Lord’s Passion. After Jesus suffered and died, what happened? The Lord had risen! We know the immense joy that came from His great suffering! Imagine the humility! Suffering shatters pride, it shuns temptation and more importantly it brings us to trust more fully in God when things do go wrong. Think of suffering as a purging process that is gradual in order to bring you in closer union to Him. The devil is cunning and would try to convince many that this process is easy, making God’s love and mercy like a “get out of jail free” card. Or by just dismissing God all together, hence the argument, “ If God was loving, why would He do this to me?” God will often allow certain circumstances to come into fruition and He’ll meet us where we are at in our relationship with Him. He will never give us more than we can bear.  God will never abandon you. I don’t recall reading ANY Holy documentation in ANY form that says life will be a piece of cake if you claim Jesus as your Lord and Savior. No, in fact Jesus tells us the exact opposite. Remember to take up your cross, not only when things are at their worst but on a daily basis. Trust in the Lord and if you are not sure how to do so, let me conclude by quoting St. Faustina who suffered greatly and is a wonderful example for us as far as what it means to trust our Lord.

“O Divine Master, what happens in my soul is Your work alone! You, O Lord, are not afraid to place the soul at the edge of a terrible precipice where it stands, alarmed and filled with fright and then You call it back again to Yourself. These are your imponderable mysteries.”

“Jesus, I trust in You”

The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

A Call to Arms....The Invisible War

There is no greater human person that we can model ourselves after than the Holy mother of our Lord and Savior. Mary is the most rich and exquisite human example of what it means to live as a Saint. Sure she was born without original sin, but we can also see what strength she had while she suffered such terrible bouts of sorrow.
This image we see of Mary depicts her crushing the head of the serpent, representing Satan. The angels surrounding her triumph in jubilant celebration, as the adversary is defeated by the Heavenly Queen through the power and Grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. As Catholics we understand the sublime power that speaks through these images. Are they idolitrous images or idols that are worshiped? Of course not! We know that we only worship God in the Divine Trinity and the source and summit of our Faith is Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Praise be to God for giving us the Sacraments! Nevertheless, these images serve as a constant reminder of how to live, what we are up against, and to help us learn and understand our Faith through a visual means. More importantly, sacred images can help us understand what we are up against and what we are called to do.
Sadly, we live in a time that is in great peril. The magnitude of rampant sin in this world often over powers the importance of good and taking action in faith, love, hope and charity. We as a global society are terribly lost, thanks to the ways and follies of men. No argument can stand against these statements. The truth is so blatantly obvious you'd have to be blind to deny it. We are in deep. Bring your artillery....because we are in a very serious spiritual combat.
The most difficult concept to grasp about spiritual combat is that it is invisible. There are two realms in which man exists. The natural world and the spiritual. The natural world has consumed nearly everyone's very being. The spiritual world is left for Sundays only because it is a mere obligation and the week carries on from there leaving God in the dust. Since we are consumed by the natural world, take the time to think about how our natural senses which are a gift from God have been stolen and exploited. The sense of vision, touch, taste and smell have all been used in the support of creating an evil empire. Even though this seems too large to combat, there is no harm in taking baby steps towards victory. Do not forget that God is bigger than us and He is ALWAYS in control.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against

powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual

wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Jesus told us " 'Truly, truly, I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in you." My dear friends in Christ, do not underestimate the power of what Christ is telling us. If you only could understand the gravity of this statement said in through a Jewish filter during Jesus' time, you would be as appalled as the discples were. Cannibalism or drinking blood of any living thing was strictly prohibited in Jewish law. The same manna that fed the Jews in the desert was cancelled out and paralelled by the bread of eternal life that is Christ. This...is our artillery. The Eucharist, confession, frequent exposure to the Blessed Sacrament is what equips us with the necessary weapons for spiritual battle. Only then will you be cured of Spiritual blindness and be able to see very clearly how the devil works. This can only happen with the Grace God gives us through the sacraments. You wouldn't starve yourself of food! So why do you starve your Soul? Take heed my friends and make haste...God needs us to combat sin and to bring more souls to Christ in this spiritual battle. Nothing can be done without Him.

May God bless you,keep you and be with you...receive the sacraments and let God's Grace flow!

Suggested prayer: Novena to the Holy Spirit

Surrender wholly and completely to God

Continuation....
For a large portion of my adult life I was known as a "Cafeteria Catholic."This means that my faith was existent in my life, but my life did not revolve around it....like it should have. What does it mean when we say we feel "a hole in the heart" a lack or unexplained emptiness? We all experience these feelings which some are not sure how to face.Unfortunately for some, and for most in this dark world we live in, that hole is filled with things of the world. Money, Drugs, Alcohol, Sex, etc. While to some these may seem like an extreme revelation, but there is no doubt it is the truth. The more you are able to escape the enslavement of sin the easier it is to recognize how cunning the devil is and how he works. The devil can work in devistatingly profound ways. What are some profound ways you have seen/known the devil work? How about cases of genocide, holocausts, terrible acts of evil that we can recall in history. Those historical happenings have a profound impact even to this day! The profoundness of these heinous acts of evil are clear, whereas the devil blatantly states his existence by using a human person as an instrument of destruction and divide. Even though this is obvious, in what ways does the devil work subtly? Perhaps by slowing leaking thoughts into your brain that essentially lead you to respond accordingly by which you can easily become entangled in a web of sin. Once entangled in a web of sin, the spirit of God can not enter or work to It's fullest because of the lingering and damaging affects of evil that become encapsulated inside the person that is the vessel. An analogy that I thought of that always helps me to understand this is.....oil and water, or even a leaky pipe that you can't reach but you can put a towel underneath it to soak up the water, or getting oil on clothing. No matter how much you wash the article of clothing, the lingering stain of oil remains. Maybe those do not make sense although they do for me anyway. What we fail to recognize is that the devil is the lord and master of divide. Look at what division we have in the world today...it is rampant. The only one who NEVER preaches hate, anger, disdain and welcomes unity with loving arms is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Desperate Cry to God
"Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart? "
-- St. Gerard Majella

Entangled in sin I came to recognize the ugliness within me. I was consumed by hate, I desecrated the temple that is my body, I slandered, I cursed, I argued, I worried constantly, I easily passed judgement on others but most of all I was easily the most untrusting person you would ever meet. I trusted NO ONE besides my Mother of course. Which that on its own is a whole different story. More importantly, I didn't trust God. Did I have faith in Him? Absolutely!!! My faith has never faltered and praise God because I am not sure how I would have eventually seen His light...luring me closer. As much as the devil works subtly so does God. Obviously the difference is God works in and with His complete, whole, all encompassing, un-ending, undefiled and unconditional Love. GOD IS LOVE!! and may He be praised! The adversary, works only with hate and all of the wickedness of the above mentioned. With me however, God would send over waves of curiousness and a well deserved sense of guilt washed over me. I remember thinking one day out of the blue, in the midst of living in my self-created web of sin, I pondered, " Why if I am so awful and so terrible does God continue to bless me? God....please stop....I am damned....and there's no turning back. Strike me down where I stand because I am not worthy to receive your many blessings." I was a "shadow" of a person....a tree that was only ever illuminated in the moonlight...and I had yet to see the Sun. Much like a shell that has been cracked or a vessel that was once filled and now emptied. The pain, the anguish, the anxiety, and the overwhelming sense of confusion locked me on a path of condemnation. And one night while laying in bed.....the only thing I could ask the Lord was,"Lord......help me...." Well... I knocked at the door and the Lord answered......

 I felt like a disobedient child who had run away selfishly from a caring and perfectly loving parent. During my wandering I had stolen and created a bad name for my parent and returned and actually expected help from the very parent that I cursed. Are you kidding me? Unforgivable. Even so, the Lord whipped open the door His face stricken with worry and looked upon my sorry, pitiful face. He looked upon me with such love and warmth and when I asked for shelter He laid me in a bed that was made for a queen...when I should have been given shelter in a barn, in a trough, with no bedding. When I asked for Water he gave me 10 pitchers and a flask and when I asked for food he offered me the bread of eternal Life...when I should have starved. His generosity filled me with a sense of love,comfort,warmth... PURPOSE!.....and after he had washed me,clothed me,tucked me in to bed and kissed me goodnight," I asked myself, how could I ever have wandered away from This??? THIS is everything....the ONLY thing that matters." The Lord answered and welcomed me into his loving arms and said " I am SO glad you've come home.." 


When I realized this, it was at a point that was a pivotal one during my conversion. I was driving to class on M-59 stuck in traffic running late as usual. I was irritated and angry with the amount of traffic and I felt stressed and overwhelmed. As I flipped through the fm stations searching for something to listen to....I yelled out " There's nothing ever on the F*****ing radio" (ewwe....pardon my mouth) I then looked to the left out the driver side window and sighed in frustration...when I turned my head and faced forward an old, rusty, blue GMC truck sat in front of me parked in traffic. The back of his truck bed had only one bumper sticker that read "990 am Catholic radio" When I read this I said more explicits and words not worth mentioning and I turned on 990 Catholic Radio. Low and behold...a true instrument of God was speaking on the radio.... His name is Father John Riccardo. The show is an hour long and somehow, lost in his talk, I ended up in the school parking lot. Which to this day I still can not recall how I got there. After his talk...I sat in the OU parking lot...in complete silence. I was in awe....There were so many emotions moving and spinning inside of me I didn't know what to think. My mind was racing and racing..I was physically present at class but definitely not mentally....racing racing thoughts and then deafening silence and the words rang in my mind very, very loudly..... GO TO CONFESSION!!!..........

The rest is history... Father John has no idea how integral his intercession was in breaking so many walls down so that I would learn how to be dedicated and learn to completely surrender myself to God. At this point....now that I had my foot in the door so to speak....the next step and the most important..was understanding how to fully trust God and possibly lose everything that was "important" to me in the world.
"Do not be led astray. Evil communication (company) corrupts good morals. Be vigilant, you just ones, and do not be willing to sin. For certain persons have an ignorance of God...." 1 Corinthians 15 : 33-34

Dear friends in Christ...

I have returned! dah duh duh daaahh!!! :) Well it's really not that magnificent of a return but here I am! Umm.....I re-read a few of my old blogs and I have to say ewwe. My time was devoted to slander and unnecessary things. Many apologies! I still agree with many things but I do not want to appear like some crack pot fool from PITA. LOL oh many laughters....I was honestly that angry though. I guess my argument was that God gave us things that roam on the earth and we must treat them all with respect and integrity and I believe yes, even animals. So far, the earthly love of my life is my cat Merlin. :) Anywhosawhatsee....
My life has also changed drastically in the past 2 years well really 5 years. Jesus has been trying to win my heart and has been calling me but I selfishly ignored. I would like to tell you my story and how I ended where I am today.. Which I am no where near where I would like to be but...slowly but surely I shall arrive. With prayer, and sincere dedication, God will assist me in my journey. "Ask and you shall receive! " :)
Let us begin, and go back to the year 1985. I was born and raised by a truly amazing woman. I have not seen a woman quite like my mother. She is truly a Saint. A model of constant dedication, true love, and selflessness. I am so proud to say that my own mother often reminds me of our Heavenly mother, Mary. I was baptized into a Catholic family and raised in the Latin Rite of the mass that existed before the second vatican counsel. More specifically, the churches we would attend would adhere to the belief of "Sede Vacante" which essentially means they believed the seat of the Pope was empty or vacant.
My parents divorced when I was two or so. My mother was the bread winner. A single mom, trying to raise a child to turn out half way decent in this dark world. I'm not sure how it happened but I like to think I turned out ok. My father was very neglectful in many many different ways...some abusive and some just....simply from being absent. He had bigger and better things like bowling and golf and eventually he chose when he was ready to have a relationship. Trust that I say this with no judgement, we will all be judged and it is not my place to judge how he has wronged me, thats the Lord's job. I have made my peace with that situation. :) Thanks be to God.
Anywho, as a Catholic child I went to such things as catechism where I was "learning" about my faith. I am so so sad to admit, all I remember is that they had delicious cupcakes. Now, as an educator, I can see where they went wrong simply in their teaching methods for the age group. So I went on, I received my first communion with a badly injured leg from falling off my bike the day before, I made my first confession, and I was made a soldier of Christ in my confirmation. And with my face slapped by the Bishop I received the confirmation name of my favorite Saint, Saint Bernadette. While I was dedicated to my faith, I found out later I stayed out of fear. We had terrible leaders leading us sheep. I can't recall ever wanting to read a bible. I thought a Bible was for those non-denominational Bible toting freaks! LOL oh Lord help me and forgive my ignorance! How stupid I was! :) Eventually I moved to Australia. Where I dated and lived with who I thought, was the love of my life (don't tell Merlin!) Once again I was wrong. I fell away from my faith because no one was there to tell me to care about it or go to church! The devil had me in a vice grip and his grip was tight. I thank God every day that I didn't die during that time. I hate to even think about the state my soul was in :-\
It took me a while but eventually my heart softened and I became curious because I felt a hole in me, I was so empty. I went back to our old church and I felt nothing.Devistated, I continued to on in life, going back and forth back and forth to God, no God, God no God. I always ended up where I didn't want to be lonely, depressed, and so so empty. It wasn't until I made a desperate cry to God, that he put the answer right in front of my face.......
to be continued

Moral relativism

Hello friends!
I have been listening to many podcasts featuring the one and only Father John Ricardo, who is such a spiritual mentor to me he has no idea. Recently, I listened to a talk titled living as a Catholic in today's world. Father John spoke briefly about relativism and how our culture is immersed in this belief. I will have more comments to come later after I read about this topic! :)
Happy blogging!