It is time to defend our Church . . .

I'm constantly amazed at the lack of knowledge about their own Church by many Catholics. I had a relative who thought abortion was only wrong after three months. I see people giggling and whispering greetings and grins with people on their way to receive Communion. An in-law told me that memorizing the Baltimore Catechism was too 'boring' for children and we should keep things 'light' and interesting in CCD classes. Obviously, the last election proved to us that many Catholics are totally uninformed about their Faith or perceive their political party to be more important than their Faith.

What has amazed me the most, however, are the politicians that claim to be Catholics yet adhere to all that is not Catholic. They are a bad example. They are writing their own religion and making it more political than spiritual.

Recently, Father Pavone Challenged Nancy Pelosi to come out of her self-made religious comfort zone and face the truth of the Church as it should apply to her. He spoke the reality of what it is to be a real Catholic and she came back with this ignorant retort:

My faith is very deep and has been my whole life. I love my faith and my faith has nothing to do with whoever he is. The arrogance of it all! It’s like something ancient, medieval…The Church taught me as I was growing up that every person has a free will and has the responsibility to live up to a moral standard. And I respect women’s judgment and values to do that.

 

Whether this priest thinks his judgment should be another woman’s judgment is absolutely ridiculous to me. But nonetheless it’s what they say. I grant the Church where they are on abortion. That’s where they are, that’s where they have to be. But my faith isn’t about what their position is. My faith is about, Christ is my savior, the church is his church, and has nothing to do with Priests for Life…I wouldn’t even dignify whatever it is they said. It was a highly emotional statement that they made. If it were more intellectual I might have paid attention to it. He was acting hysterically.

 

In her first paragraph, she is correct that we do have free will but the free will should be exercised within the rules and guidelines of our Faith. It doesn't mean we have a right to go against the precepts of our religion in order to have life as we want it. There is nothing Catholic about claiming free will in order to sin. If you say you respect a  woman's judgment and that judgment is in favor killing her unborn baby, you are not defending your Faith. It is interesting . . . She claims her free will gives her license to promote sinful behavior but she is in full support of the rules of being a staunch Democrat. Guess being a Democrat doesn't have the same free will!

A priest is trained in the Church to support what the Church stands for in all matters. A priest can judge and say when something is blatantly sinful like killing an unborn baby. The Ten Commandments are pretty straightforward on that score ' Thou Shalt Not Kill'. Didn't notice any translations saying 'except as Pelosi deems it inadvisable.

You can't have a well-formed Catholic Faith without knowing the Faith. If, as she says, her faith is what it is and Christ is her savior, then you would think she would want to abide by all that Jesus came down to earth and died for in our place. If anyone is hysterical, it is her retort to common sense and what the Church is actually about. Christ founded the Church. God gave us the Ten Commandments. Jesus died for our sins. Ms. Pelosi is trying to advocate everyone living according to their comforts rather than conforming to the Word of God.

Strangely, the voices of reason in our Church, today, are few and far between. This woman has been a 'catholic' with roots in a church of her own making for years. God bless, Father Pavone for finally pointing out her errors. Her own pastor hasn't seen fit to do so for years and has been distributing Communion to her without question. Either she doesn't truly believe in the Real Presence or her pastor doesn't to bestow the Body of Christ knowing in his heart that she is not obeying the laws of the Church.

When do the Ten Commandments not apply . . .

We can all acknowledge that our world has gone off the skids in many ways concerning morality, crime, selfishness, etc. It doesn't start off in a huge way but in many small infractions that gradually turn into the norm. In sunny California, I'm beginning to agree that our drivers are getting to be among the worst. These days, when the light turns green for me, I subconsciously and automatically wait about 30 seconds because I know that the cars that have since gone from the yellow warning light to the red stop light will still be coming through. And they do so without a second thought. Defensive driving has taken on a whole, new meaning. The rules of the road are viewed according to each and every egotistical, personal view and if you are in someone's way because they are amiss in their knowledge of good driving, it is you that had better watch out.

One time, I was in the left-hand turning lane waiting for the light. There were three lanes for going straight ahead to my right. The light turns green and before any of us can move, a car in the far right lane decided to make a left turn past the three lanes and my left-hand turning lane!

This morning, the infamous crossing in our town was at it's usual law-breaking best. The light went green for my left-hand turn but so many cars from the previous green light (not red!) kept going that by the time I could make my legal left-hand turn with the green light, it turned yellow when I was only halfway through.

Cell phones! The law says so hand-held cell phones while driving in California. A good law but seemingly, it doesn't seem to apply to the majority of drivers. A light had turned green as I was approaching the intersection. Several cars had already crossed. As I prepared to follow through, a car on the right of the intersection decided to make a left-hand turn on the red in front of me. She didn't even notice as they was gabbing and laughing on her cell phone.

One of the left-hand turns I take almost on a daily basis is into the street leading to our church. A good many of the people making the same turn are also heading to Mass. A good many of them run through the stop sign. A good many of them are on their cell phones. A good many of them have no problem cutting you off from your legal turn in order to get there three seconds faster.

There is a commandment among the ten that says we should honor our father and mother. I don't think it stops at that. I think it applies to respecting and honoring authority. Seems to me that many of these 'good' people might be surprised to know they are not being obedient to God's commandment even as they break traffic laws on their way to church. At another point in time, when tested, Jesus did say we should honor the things that are Caesar's and honor the things that are God. Doesn't that apply to laws that are for the good of everyone?

Clint Eastwood . . .

 

Good old Clint.  May he live a long life. 
 
                
 
CLINT EASTWOOD AND A ONE SENTENCE EDITORIAL
 
This one-sentence editorial appeared in the Peoria Journal Star recently. . .
 
"A pen in the hand of this president is far more dangerous than a gun
in the hands of 200 million law-abiding citizens."
 
Then Clint Eastwood added these words . . .
 
"We Americans are so tired of being thought of as dumbasses by the
rest of the world that we went to the polls this past November and
removed all doubt."
                                            ---  Clint Eastwood

 

Summer . . .

 It has been a hectic and busy summer so my poor husband hasn't had the time or energy to put all his efforts into his favorite pastime, gardening. Still, when you wander through our backyard, there are signs of growth and the hope for some fresh tomatoes and peaches on the horizon. Even my beloved pomegranate tree might actually produce some fruit this year. Both orange trees are doing their best. One of them provided oranges from November until April of this year.

The garden out back, such as it is, inspired me to try out a new pattern on my embroidery machine which it turn inspired me to take a moment here.

We do have a relatively new dog, however, that takes a reprimand very well and when he chewed up one hose, was very sorry and avoided it after that . . . except he chewed up another hose. We now know we have to point out each and every thing that he may not chew. Not all garden varmints are of the bug and creepy crawler persuasion!

News from the Vatican . . .

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/06/19/pope_adds_name_of_st._joseph_to_eucharistic_prayers/en1-702859

Tipsy Beer Cake

Here is my take on an interesting recipe. I like cooking/baking with beer as it adds an interesting level to the finished product. Just make sure you use a good brand so the outcome is just as tasty!

Tipsy Beer Cake
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup shortening
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounce can of beer
1 cup mashed banana
1 cup finely diced dates
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Vegetable oil spray an oblong baking pan or pans to accommodate batter. Batter should fill the pans 2/3rds full.

Stir together the salt, soda, spices, and flour together in a separate bowl.

Cream together sugar, shortening, and eggs. Add beer, bananas, dates, nuts, zest, and vanilla to creamed mixture. Add the dry ingredient and mix to combine well.

Pour bather into prepared pan(s). Bake for approximately 45 minutes depending on size of pans used. Use a toothpick to test for doneness - no wet batter should be evident.

Let cool and ice with a lemon glaze. Keeps well . . . if it lasts that long!

Choice is a selfish choice . . .

Conservative talk show host, Rush Limbaugh seems to be either loved or hated. The love part comes from people who want the truth. The hate part comes from people who find the truth irritating to their entitled way of life. In his program, last week, he hit on a very controversial topic - abortion. According to him 'much of the cultural and economic decay facing America can be traced to the more than 50 million abortions performed since 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.'

Although the anti-life faction consider abortion merely a woman's right to choose (forget about the females in the womb), Rush Limbaugh stated that "It's had an impact on crime. It's had a profound impact on our politics. It is a the root of our cultural rot and decay."

It isn't just about a woman's choice, Rush said. "I'm talking the overall effect of a society having literally no problem with eliminating 52 million of its citizens." In other words, few people want to take responsibility for what they do, what they want, and how they get it.

I found it a thought-provoking comment when Rush Limbaugh noted that ‘Americans still feel guilt over slavery, yet aren't bothered by abortion.’ The fact is that more minorities abort their children.

This remark summed up what is so wrong with our country today: "Why is our society so permissive, anything goes, the more ribald, the better? The more honorable, the more boring it is said to be."