Fr Cutie,..Celibacy,.

Two posts this week,..wow what a lucky readership I have!!  Seriously sometimes too many things, events or conversations take place that I feel warrant a forum to be discussed.  Today's post, and ironicallly Jimmy Akin's as well will focus on the case of Fr Albert Cutie.  It seems Fr Cutie has written a book in which he justifies his actions of not being faithful to the DISCIPLINE of celibacy and thus ended up in scandal,..then further scandal by leaving God's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, and entering the one, progressive, multi-wordshipul(I made up a word, if liberals can do it, so can I) and  gender neutral Anglican Communion.  Sorry Anglicans, but anyone with half a brain can discern that your 'Church' is about as likely to survive as the Dodo bird in the early half of the twentieth century.  Now that I've backed up ecumenical relations with the anglicans for the time being, (Yeah, like women's ordination and no clear cut dogma didn't already do that!...) let's get back to the subject of the former Catholic priest known at one time as Fr 'Oprah.' 

A little primer,..for those of us that don't remember, Fr Cutie was involved with a woman back in May of 2009.  It would seem that papparazzi pictures of him at the beach were taken and then sold to a tabloid.  The chain reaction of scandal, albeit justified by the liberal socialist anti-Church press turning Fr Cutie into a martyr and then his subsequent defection and entry into schism!  (We must remember that Fr Cutie is validly ordained!)  The news panels quickly shifted their attention to the sex abuse scandal and then the piece de resistance as every Catholic 'expert' was trotted out before the cameras to petition the Church to change!  (Y'know the ones,.Fr Richard McBrien, Sister Jabba the,..ooops Joan Chittister and the rest of the 'spirit' of VII crowd...)  So in the end,.Fr Cutie commits scandal and is quickly absolved, and we the audience are fed the line of socialist crap that the Church should change!  Now fast forward, and he's writing a book to tell people of his experience, and how he felt called to marriage too, (ie horny..) and thus desired the best of both worlds.  I smell a New York times bestseller!! (BTW,.Fr Euteneur's book hasn;t received the same coverage,..cause y'know it actually deals with important issues, exorcism,..the antidote to Eckert Tolle published demonic toilet paper,..)

At supper with a few friends, I usually get asked some questions about the Church coupled with some bold paced pronounced all based on media indoctrination and misconception.  Naturally the conversation turned to the celibacy issue and how if it were changed, there would be more vocations.  I think my answer startled most people.  I argued that from a perspective of Faith, one first is called to celibacy and thus chastity, then is called to either priesthood or religious life.  The sexual dimension is but one facet of an overall picture.  An indivual called to marriage, while entering his vows must prepare himself or herself for the possibility of chastity as well.  Imagine a guy dates and marries the most beautiful woman in the world,...sigh,..then BAM!!!  A piano falls on her head, paralyzing her from the waist down, meaning she can't 'function' sexually.  A real man will know that his love for his wife will transcend that reality and thus will bear his new cross of chastity freely out of love for his wife.  Similarly a woman marries a guy who six months into their marriage is stricken with a disease whereby nothing 'works' anymore.  If she's a real woman, she won't be receiving visits from the pool boy!  She will freely accept out of love, her new found chastity within marriage.  Back to priesthood.  An authentic calling finds the guy viewing the Church as his bride, obviously the sexual dimension is not there, but the love is!  Fr Cutie commits a fatal error in logic when he says he was called to priesthood and marriage.  Why?  Simply because of the question that Mrs Fr Cutie must ask herself everyday,..If he wasn't faithful to one vocation, what makes her think he'll be faithful to another?  Fr Cutie, just admit, you were horny, and you wanted to screw around!  Please don't reference the Eastern Church, because even they need to be married first, if they want to be a priest afterward they can, they can't become a priest, then get married.  Besides, their discipline is not ours.

What pains me most when discussing these points with secular or heterodox catholics, is the following:  Why is it that they will pontificate the celibacy issue as the main cause for the sex abuse scandal,.while not wondering aloud why these problems don't surface in Buddhist or Hindu male monestaries?  Do they believe that when the Bishop lays hands on your head, you suddenly get the urge to molest children?  Seriously liberals, get your head out of your ass!  The answer is that they are afraid of truth period.  The scandal, the HOMOSEXUAL scandal, the one that broke out where nearly every victim was male and post pubescant was not caused by celibacy!  It was caused by SIN,..and perhaps poor judgment admitting certain men to seminaries looking to hide from the world!  Fr Cutie,..I pray for your soul,..that one day, you might reconcile yourself to the Church!

St Maria Gorreti,.....Ora pro nobis!

A Christmas Moment of Contemplation

Yesterday,.(Sunday) I woke up and got on the scale,..174 lbs!  At first I expected a slight bump yet at the same time was shocked to actually see it.  Now coming from the fitness world,.makes me well aware that it would take an excess of 3500 calories to gain about one pound of fat.  Nevertheless, I must backtrack.  So turning back the clock,.to Christmas Eve,..the menu:  spaghetti aglio e olio, calamari in a red sauce,.eel,.baccala, (salted cod) and smelts, finally plenty of homemade wine and dessert!  Okay so far?  We relax and prepare for Midnight Mass...My father and Godfather/uncle still drinking,..because,..well una cena senza vino e come' una giornata senza sole.  My mother and aunts were well,..baking,..ummm baking...So midnight Mass comes and goes, return home to more panninis then off to bed,..on a full stomach!

The next morning sees me up at 6am,.(don't ask why) and without so much as a moment of thought, once again gluttony begins yet anew...fresh pastries, egg nog and brandy, along with every other imaginable culinary pleasure.  Supper time!  Family friends gathered around a large table and off we went again, zuppa straciatella, prociutto with melon then Turkey.  We were so busy gorging ourselves we forgot to invite Jesus to His own birthday!  When did Christmas turn into this?  The way I acted and viewed food was nothing short of disgusting.  How a religious holiday turned into such an excuse for gluttony blew my mind!  In one short second, my Christmas was ruined.  I think next year its time I give back.   My mind over and over raced to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus,...Yet Sunday morning I was more concerned with how much weight I put on.

I think we can all agree that Christmas is a time we look forward to,..yet this Christmas,.was for me an interior look at my conscience.  How many people were homeless,. in shelters?  At least they were better off, because despite all the goodies we had in our stomachs and under our trees,..we were missing something/someone that they had,...they had Jesus.

St Michael the Archangel,........Ora pro nobis.

Christmas Wrap Up,..Q & A

With Christmas,.(not 'holiday day') a few days away, I figured now is as good a time as any to wish everyone a very Happy and Holy Christmas.  This past year has been great as far as readership for 'Confessions' goes and I personally would love to thank everyone who takes time out of their day to read this blog.  Especially in light that sometimes this blog serves as an emotional outlet for a rant against heterodoxy, socialism and the general Orwellian thought process that accompanies the first two.  Well, today its gonna be different,..every once in a while I answer frequently asked questions regarding email sent to me,..soooo today will be that day!   The questions will be paraphrased...

1.  Are you Catholic?  Why are you so condescending towards other people? (from a student)

Ans:  No,..I belong to the Western branch of Reformed Presby-lutheranism  pastored by Reverend Timothy Lovejoy!  Hope you can take a joke,..!   Yes I am Catholic.  As far as your second question,.liberals have manipulated media for soo long, it has become common place to accept as truth any left of centre idea put forward by lefty elites.  I do not condescend people,.but I will condescend ideas.  If I come off as condescending, that is not my intent.  What I am trying to do is come off as 'satirical' and 'sarcastic.'  (By the way,..the person who sent me that email is a fan of Bill Maher,..irony anyone?)

2.   Why are you so pro American?  (from a 'Social Justice advocate')

Ans:  I am no more pro American than I am a proud Canadian! Hockey, maple syrup and Tim Horton's!   As a Canadian, I am happy that my bourders are secure as they are  defended by the strongest country in the world.  They are our largest trading partner.  What that means Mr Social Justice, is that if they ever wanted to they could make us starve!  You don't like it,..move nextdoor to China or the Sudan,..send me a postcard,..cause y'know those countries according to your silence, are beacons of paradise.  It does pain me that so many Americans,.(manipulated by lefty hollywood?) voted in a socialist,..yup a socialist, whose middle name is 'Hussein.'  By the way, were you offended that I wished them a happy 4th of July? 

3.  Were you always this way?

Ans.  No,..like most people, I was poorly catechized and nearly brainwashed into the mindset of,.'Well the Catholic Church is a nice place to be,.but it has to change with the times and y'know one religion is as good as another,..Paul probably founded Christianity,...blah,.blah,.blah...' The priests on the french side of the diocese advanced this stuff.  Long story short, I always had a fascination with religion,( nearly converted to Islam) and one day was buying a book at a local diocesan bookstore.  I saw a priest,.who actually was young and looked 'normal.'  The older priests were always a bit,..shall we say 'light in the loafers' or so I thought,..Anyway I engaged this guy in conversation and what followed was an intellectual ass kicking par excellance!  I was physically exhausted from the mental beating this priest gave me, and was still shocked that he was normal!  Still friends with this priest to this day!  (Remember, I've always participated in a physical activity and am reasonably considered a muscular dude,..martial arts, hockey, wrestling,.)  I started devouring everything, Bible, catechism, Summa, (even in University,.as a Poli Sci student started majoring in philosophy,..),..The final push was April 2005,..sitting inside Marie Reine du Monde Cathedral in vigil for Pope John Paul II.

4.   How do I get Abs?  (woman from Italy)

Abs,..my friends are not made in the gym,..they are made in the kitchen pure and simple!   You can do all the sittups, and leg raises in the world,.but if your diet isn't reflecting that, your abs won't show!  Don't get me wrong, you train your abs in the gym,.but to get that 'beach body' look, you'll need to diet!  Any inquiries can be made by linking to Elle Nutrition and/or supplementing with Elle Nutrition protein,..its only 40$ but its well worth it especially for women.

Merry Christmas!......Maranatha!

Ya I'll be Promoting This One!

The Ultimate Warrior! My hero when I was 10,.my Inspiration at 33!

What a title! What else can I say? I know if you're in my age bracket, your thinking about the Ultimate Warrior running down the aisle heading into the ring,.those clothelines, winning the championship at Wrestlemania 6 and getting stuffed into a coffin by a then very young Undertaker. So your asking yourself, what the hell does this have to do with Catholicism or Social Conservatism? The answer EVERYTHING!

It would seem that the Ultimate Warrior has rebirthed himself as a fitness guru and proponent of traditional values. I made this discovery by accident while surfing and coming across old youtube videos of him wrestling. Next thing I now,..I'm listening to him give a lecture at a university! Granted maybe some people might disagree with his content delivery methods,..but WOW! I surfed in to his website, and will invite everone else to visit his blog. Among the works he's familiar with, Aristotle, Aquinas, C.S. Lewis,..I couldn't believe it. Needless to say I'm devouring most of his blog. There is very little about pro wrestling and to answer a question, yes his legal name is 'Warrior.' He is not Catholic (Yet...) but from his writings, I think we'll all agree he'll be coming home, (God willing) soon. I could see it now,..(Howard Finkel voice) 'Making his debut with the Catholic Church, weighing in at 270lbs, from Parts Unknown,..The Ultimate Warrior!!' (Cue music) Da,...da,da,da,.daaaaaaa,..(guitar riff...)



Oh,..how I digress!! I put a link to his blog in my links section!


St Jude,.....Ora pro nobis!

Liberal Ostrich Syndrom.

This week I've had enough, and will head down to register a new psychological disorder,.it's really not that new, but you'd swear to speak about it openly will cause more people to ostracize you than they did the lepers at the time of Jesus. L.O.S. which will stand for Liberal Ostrich Syndrom usually starts out as S.O.S. (Help!) socialist ostrich syndrome. The intent initially is good,.you get the rest of the buzzwords of tolerance, acceptance, dialogue,..none of them evil or agenda ridden in any way, until they become usurped by the wrong crowd. Now once again, for the benefit of my readership and just to annoy the social justice crowd, let me reiterate that I'm not against the environment, not against animals, not against women and therefore please do not accuse me of such nonsense. I am however for the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth! Liberals hate truth, hide from truth and thus refuse to accept truth,..hence the term for what I will call their new psychological disease.

As a Catholic, it can be sometimes agonizingly painful to watch as we (Catholic Christians) seem to be the only acceptable religious group for outside sources (the lefty media) to criticize and ridicule. Throughout our history, there have been times when yes, we needed to take a look at ourselves in the mirror. The sex abuse scandal, Bishops transferring homosexual priests from parish to parish, that needed to be brought to attention so that justice might be mitted out. However, it does become curious when it is discovered that the nature of the problem is something different than what the media are reporting and likewise, other faith 'traditions' have more problems in that field than Catholics do, yet these stories never see the light of day!

Several weeks back,.a terrorist attack took place inside a Christian Church in Iraq. Well, it did make the ticker on CNN, but the focus became religious extremism. While that is true, it underscores the Islamic problem! Yup, there I go being politically incorrect again! Islam doesn't seem to 'get it!' This isn't new, they've tried twice before to conquer the world in the name of Allah, yet the liberal media, saddled with LOS (head in sand) refuses to acknowledge the obvious. Even a superficial reading of their history, let alone their philosophy can attest to that! The mosque at Ground Zero? Why was there even a debate? Hypothetically switch it around, if Catholics terrorized a mosque, would they call it religious extrmemism,..No! They would call it Catholic violence. My question is this,..Why is there such a f'n double standard? The media should report facts, and leave their biases at home. Then again they have sponsors. That being said, Charlie Sheen will always find work,.despite his issues,..Mel Gibson will have problems buying a sandwich...

Liberals,.stop! Just stop. What exactly are you trying to do? You claim to be for justice and fairness, yet you won't let or you will suppress things and issues that go against your agenda. So let's stop with the B.S. and make a New Year's resolution, okay?..No more Global Warming/Climate crap, no more ridiculous issues designed to steer you away from the real problems,.(protesting the mining of cell phones while Abortion mills are being set up. C'mon social justice crowd, I think we can do better!)) Get your collective heads out of your asses! No more socialist nonsense! No more imaginery population control H1N1 or R2D2 or swine/bird/pigeon/seagull flu vaccinations,..We want the Truth! So let's start now,..Do you know what will happen after December 21st 2012? The answer will be December 22nd 2012. I think I made my point.


St Jude,.....Ora pro nobis.

Optimusmastro is not Fr Barron

Why? Because Father Barron can communicate eternal truths of the Faith without hammering someone over the head with them. I have always said, I love our Risen Lord and His Church, but to communicate that reality sometimes takes a certain charism that perhaps the Holy Spirit did not impart on me. Don't get me wrong,..I have been given many graces and many gifts,..but to speak so eloquently as to invite the opposition or still, our seperated brethren in the protestant communities to ponder certain things,..that, I do not possess. I'm more of a Father Corapi kind of guy! Nevertheless this Fr Barron is simply awesome! We all possess different talents,........oh well..



Compare as you dare,.Here we have Father Corapi just telling it like it is! God Bless both these fine priests in both their respective ministries,..




St John the Evangelist,.......Ora Pro Nobis..

Rejuvenation? Yeah Right,..Here we go Again!!! ARGHH!!

Last week, the Archdiocese of Montreal shuffled the Diocesan Curia and promoted some people who will fit their agenda to the 'tee.' Funny thing is, I never wanted to post this, but I feel this is the best tool,.(new media, social networking) to get a message across. So what did I do? Well I waited a week, to settle my blood pressure down,.and thus make sure I wouldn't write an expletive ridden tirade, but instead a more neutral critique(a la John Allen the guy with no balls at National Crapolic Reporter) of the arch diocese brainfart.(Yeah right,.cause I'm neutral..) So that's where I'll begin. First off, its not a brainfart! It is a calculated move to put in place people who want to create the Quebec Church. I remember this stuff going as far back as far as University, whereby my then theology professor, a French Canadien Lutheran, by the way,..would often speak openly about this coming 'schism.'

So let's see, going down the list..vocations in the toilet? Check! Women running around the sanctuary pretending to be priest(tesses)? Check! Attendance at Sunday Mass lower than a bottom feeding plecostamus fish? Yup, check! Here is the kicker,..on the english side of the diocese things are looking up especially within the ethnic parishes, great solid priests are being ordained,..so what do the brainsurgeon socialists at the Archdiocese do? Well we can't have that now can we? Next they'll start kneeling for Communion! The shock!, the horror! Well for starters they promote every heretic they can find, right up to the number two spot! (people who supported the famous 19 signature priests wanting the Church to change Her position on homosexual marriage). Naturally there was no reprimand for this public show of disobediance, instead you reward them as mavericks!!! Y'know ahead of their time! People, I really don't care how many friends I lose in the archdiocese over this, you need to step up! To my priest friends,.tell me honestly when our Lord called you to priesthood, you freely accepted to die for the Eucharist? Think about it, you freely gave up a wife and kids,..and for what exactly? Campy, cheesy songs from Fr Feelgood who feels the Church is too rigid? If he 'feels' that way,..why the f@#% is still active in the ministry? Social justice crap all over the Sanctuary, in the name of what exactly? By the way, as I've mentioned before, I'm not talking about authentic social justice, one that has abortion as its starting point, I'm talking about marxism cleverly disguised under banner terms like 'liberation theology.' Younger priests, are you ready to die or face alienation/ persecution? One of those priests appointed(in the 'rejuvination') to his position said, to paraphrase,..Vatican II was a compromise between the Holy Spirit and 'les Traditionalistes' and he feels his mission is to hold the hand of the Church as a son holds his dying mother...When the Church as we know it dies,.then a new 'Church' will emerge complete its 'feel good' agenda, relativism and moral ambiguity. So that's it right? We are just going to roll over and die?

So here it is folks,..hold your little referendum,.(I mean Quebecers love referendums right?) and if you vote to leave,..then leave! If you vote to stay, accept the authority and stop trying to undermine and usurp power! You have about a year left, why because our dear Cardinal will be of retirement age,..and just looking at what's happening, I have a feeling that a clean sweep is gonna be coming over Montreal!(not that it matters cause you'll probably take your ball and go home!) I am honestly tired of writing these kinds of posts, but really, you and your 'ilk' (liberals) are the biggest bunch of manipulative lying spineless jellyfish people on the friggin planet! I'm 33,..I love Jesus, I love His Church,.I freely accepted this reality and I am prepared to die for it! Don't be scared though, the way you fight, you don't come head on, you go from behind like any other coward or bully,..Well I'm here, you know where to find me,.and I'm shining a huge flashlight exposing your crap!


Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal,.......Ora pro nobis

By the way, I am Catholic, will remain Catholic, and will not succumb to the coming 'Quebec Church' or whatever you will call it. My American friends, you have your own problems, next year the American Catholic Council will meet and more than likely a similar schism will occur!!!!!!!! ITS GO TIME!!!!!!!!!!

Secular Group Think.

Okay kids, a follow up to a post I did yesterday regarding the Pope and condoms. So let's tackle a few issues shall we, so that the socialists along with their Orwellian mindset and revisionist history can crawl back under whatever rock they came out from and thus return to scheming and engineering their next piece of creative writing,..So here goes, are you listening? Hey,..put down your 'Development and Peace' water bottle nonsense, women's ordination crap and your Rainbow whatevers and just listen! The CHURCH is NOT and will NOT change Her position on condoms! Now I encourage everyone to break out their environmentally safe crayons and tattoo that statement on some social justice heads! I suppose within the same degree of common sense, that if a crack addict used clean needles, that would mean I'm justifying his drug use? Common!

Yesterday at the gym, a client asked me my opinion, to which I replied, if I am Catholic, I have already submitted my intellect and will to the Church.(you do that at Confirmation..btw...) She went on to lecture me about AIDS and how condoms prevent them. Really? Reaaaaaally? Y'know what here is a recurring theme,..the Catholic Church is just that,..you want episcopalian/Anglo whatever? Fine, leave! Stop claiming the title Catholic! You want to prevent AIDS? Stop sleeping around,.be monogamous,..Wow what a novel idea!! Try reading the Theology of the Body,..

Click on Facebook, and join us over at Generation Benedict: Orthodox Catholic Young Adults. Big thanks to Jason and Christina for getting the ball rolling,..now let's light some liberal houses on fire!

St Andre de Montreal,.....priez pour nous!

Journalistic Integrity, Tomfoolery or Plain Ignorance?

I was always told by my father not to read just the headlines, but get the whole story! Sadly,.if only the secular media would get this right. Unfortunately, most journalists do not have a backround in either philosophy or theology, so should we fault them for this kind of shoddy reporting? Absolutely!! Ignorance or sensationalism should not be a reason to promote things that are simply untrue! That being said, the Church was, is and always will be against artificial contraception!

Bits and Pieces

Where to begin?,..Well first off, last week I posted about my paternal grandfather being a POW during WWII,..and subsequent attempts by Italian Canadians to rectify this situation at a federal level. I also thought I would have posted again, something a little more humourous yet filled with Optimusmastro-ishness opinion and ranting. Well,.as you can tell it didn't happen. Ahh, time being of the essence, I must resign to the idea that there are only twenty-four hours in a day, despite my attempts at creating the new twenty-eight hour day! The reason I didn't post, is because of Rememberance Day,.where we honour our fallen brethren who fought for our freedom. In Canada, we should remind the separatists that if not for our brave soldiers, they wouldn't be able to commit acts of treason by voting in people freely accepting a pay from the federal government by attempting to break up the country!

Got that out of the way,..now on to our neighbors to the South,..The USCCB has apparently listened to the Faithful and riding a wave of authentic orthodoxy elected Bishop Timothy Dolan of New York. Without missing a beat the National Crapolic Reporter's resident pissboy John Allen was quick to offer his 'balanced' view. Declaring of course, that Dolan is known as a 'conservative' and therefore we could potentially see a shift in the USCCB. I'm not putting a link to this stuff,.if anybody wants to read it, go online and find it. Allen, true to his neutral stance,.offers insights as if the US Bishops had elected a politician. By the end of next week, we should get some more verbal diarrhea coming from Bishop Gumbleton and better still, Sister Joan Chittister. My thoughts, well I'm not quite sure. I'm still confused as to how he handled a homosexual oriented parish in his diocese. I'll take a wait and see attitude.

Finally in response to a letter (yes another one) I got in my email 'inbox' concerning my straightforward writing style and supposed lack of respect for other people's opinions. Here's the answer, I welcome dialogue. Period. As long as Truth is the objective, I don't see a problem. When truth is set aside, indifference creeps in,.then we get the so-called 'shades of gray' analogy. This person claims that there is no truth. Ironically this person also teaches high school mathematics, and while correcting exams has marked students wrong. Can we not see the irony? hmmmm......

St Thomas Aquinas,......Ora pro nobis.

Grandson of P.O.W. 780

Last October 31st saw the conclusion of Paradise by the River, a play by well-known Montreal playwright Vittorio Rossi which essentially tells the story of Italian Canadians being stripped of their rights and treated as traitors despite being recent immigrants. I was priveledged to see this play in 1998, and thus, because of reasons which will become apparent as this post progresses feel the need the emote my thoughts. The recent update of the play had a picture of eight P.O.W.s in the foyer of the theatre...The online community knows me as Optimusmastro, a strong, right of center, Catholic man, building a reputation for telling it like it is. My readership has come to accept this and will not stand for anything else. My real name is Marco Mastromonaco, and I am the grandson of P.O.W. 780,..aka Giovanni Mastromonaco, one of the eight men in that photograph. Ergo the reason, I did not see this play,..

Upon discovering a letter that my grandfather wrote to my grandmother dated Feb. 10th 1941, several emotions stirred in me. The first was one of curiosity, but then again, one can hardly quantify that as an emotion. The second was shame,.seeing my grandfather, whom I had never met, reduced to writing his 'prisoner of war' number as an identification. The third was anger. Why anger? Well,.we are supposed to be living in a country which is so unapologetically left of center, you'd have thought an apology would have been forthcoming. The letter written in broken english, shows my grandfather's love and concern for my grandmother along with his abiding Faith in God, that they will pull through. My grandmother at the time was pregnant, but the date the letter was written was a day after she had given birth,..the baby in question was my father,..the third child in a clan of eight.

I have always taken pride in my Italian heritage. I have been to Italy to see relatives, and speak italian reasonably well. Obviously due to assimilation, one day we will lose this language, yet we must never forget who we are and where we come from! I have always been proud of Canada as well and have always identified myself as a Canadian. This mark, this blemish has me to a certain degree, questioning (once again) humanity. Don't get me wrong, I understand, that when in a time of war, chances can't be taken, but a quick backround check, and some common sense could eliminate the possibility of a landscape gardener acting as a spy for a foreign government! The world, becoming the global village that it is, has forgotten certain facts. Today's context of 'terrorism' would by their flawed logic see all Arab/Muslims in P.O.W. camps. I think we could all imagine the protests...(please do not waste energy emailing me comparing the US's patriot act to this!!)

Call to action time! Any Canadians reading this, please help promote our cause by pressuring the Senate ratify Bill C-302, which would recognize the injustice that was done to persons of italian origin, and therefore will help in the knowledge and education of Italian Canadian history. I promise to blog again this week, I know it wasn't a fun post,..

St Michael the Archangel,........Ora pro nobis

Honesty,..the Best Policy

Sad news this week in Iraq when gunmen affiliated with Al Qaeda stormed a Church in Baghdad. The outcry from the muslim community was instantaneous in condemening the attack perpetrated upon Our Lady of Salvation Church,..Err,..actually no it wasn't! Time and time again we fed by the elitist liberal media about how Islam means 'peace' (uh no, it actually means 'submission') and that it is just a minority extremist fringe commiting these attrocities. Okay, fine,..So my question is simple,..Where is the outpouring into the streets in the West of Muslims ready to denounce this horror? By their logic, there should be an overwhelming majority ready to protest and block cars the same way they do it for the Palestinian cause, right? Yet strangely enough we get the cookie cutter politically correct statement from the local imam denouncing acts of aggression,..hmmm,...I smell a rat.

An Open Letter,..

Dear Muslim Community,..

Since quite a while, yes even before 2001, we opened up our borders and welcomed you into the West in search of a better life. All we ask is that in turn, you call a spade a spade so to speak. On this blog, several months ago, I wrote a brief series on Islam. I was taught Islam by Muslim professors who doubled as 'Imams' and thus was confident in what I had written. I have read the Qur'an and believe it or not, I do disagree with it. I do not believe it to be the inspired(let alone verbatim as you claim)word of God, in fact I believe it contradicts basic objective philosophy. Nevertheless, I have no desire to hurt you. As Vatican II stated,(Nostra Aetate) I do believe there are some elements of truth found in your religion, but ultimately they find their true end in the fullness of the Catholic faith. I have also read some works by Averroes, Al Ghazali and some Hadiths, both major and minor. Please stop insulting my intelligence by claiming Islam 'the religion of peace.' I know all about a 'hudna.' (BTW, Muhammed offered a ten year one and broke it in two years) I am also familiar with 'Al Taqiyya' or the art of deception in the name of Islam. (ie Al Qaeda sleeper cells) Finally, I do know about the Dar Al Harb vs Dar Al Islam. In the end, your religion teaches a manifest destiny of conquering the world in the name of God, whereas mine teaches conquering of death through the death and ressurection of Christ Jesus.

So lets put our cards on the table, shall we. There is no such thing as a moderate muslim! Moderate muslims are secular people. period. Now that we know each other we can talk, and no, not about sesame street style interfaith 'dialogue' or whatever garbage was spewed for the last 40 yrs. Let's be frank,.as Pope Benedict puts it! You see it comes down to a matter of salvation! I don't want to go to hell when I die, so please convince me of the truth of Islam! Similarly, as Pope John Paul II puts it, I would like to speak to you about seeing Jesus, but not through broken lenses. I challenge any Muslim reading this to read Summa Contra Gentiles by Thomas Aquinas!! Similarly I'll read anything by Averroes, Ghazali,..you name it!(oh wait I already did!). Metaphysically your religion does not work, it contradicts and defies logic!!! Verse abbrogation from an eternal God??? C'mon guys!

To conclude, we share many things,..yet I believe in a God of Love, a God of relationships,..(Father, Son ,.Holy Spirit)Your understanding of God is quite different,.with statements like 'God commands us to love Him!' Uh,..no,.God wants us to freely choose Him! You can't command love. Think about these things..The Trinity is not three gods froming one, (like the transformers' Devastator) but an eternal exchange of Love!

52 Christians died in Iraq. The crime was being Christian. Do not claim that the West has done similar things in the name of God. Read history, if not for Pope Urban II the West would have been muslim. These were defensive measures undertaken. Were there abuses? Probably, but in comparison to what the muslim community is perpetuating in the name of Islam,..is downright genocidal. Look at the facts,.of about 25 wars in the world today,.21 involve muslims!

To conclude the ball is in your court, if any muslim reads this, I am open to discussion and discourse but with Truth as the clear cut objective! Just please, do not insult my intelligence!

Our Lady of Fatima,...Ora pro nobis!

A Diversion,..'.Il Cane' by Suela

Chill. After the politics, heterodoxy, and the overall garbage coupled with verbal diarrhea polluting our intellectual and social landscape, even I need downtime! Yes,..even a beast like Optimusmastro can appreciate a good song. Notice, she's not talking about anything 'risque'(by the way if you have a problem with this song,..you need medical help, seriously) just a great tribute, albeit in Italian to man's best friend! Therein lies true talent...Sit back and enjoy what I think is a good song, You can link to it from my twitter feed. She is local talent, ambitious,..with an unbelievable drive, unbelievable voice and infectious work ethic! Good Stuff Suela! Even the dragon known as Optimusmastro can appreciate it! Simple enough, it is a song about 'dogs.' In Italian,..'il cane.' Enjoy!



Simple enough,..yet relaxing,..

Cause Optimus said so! Got a problem? (I think I want a puppy! ;)

Taliban Catholicism and the Catholic Blogger

A short little rant today about an opinion piece that found its way into the mainstream media via the Washington Post. It seems that Catholic Bloggers want to purge the Church of any kind of dissent!! The shock! The horror! Can you believe it,.that 'We' the Catholic Bloggers are actually trying as best we can to live out our faith, be faithful to the Magisterium and thus don't subcribe to any heterodox super plan to attempt to change the Church into Episcopal Church 2, the Sequel. Y'know the one that doesn't pronounce any dogmas, because well, that would be judgmental, now wouldn't it?

So let's get straight to the point, cut through all the crap past the meat and into the marrow of the problem,. What is wrong with Catholics wanting to be Catholic? Are they friggin serious? 'Conservative' Catholic or 'liberal' catholik,..cause y'know that actually wouldn't be Catholic. How about 'flying' Catholic or maybe 'three headed' Catholic? Since we are delving into the absurd,..Sometimes the amount of nonsense put forth by the secular media knows no limits. So we, the bloggers are given titles such as 'Taliban' or 'Traditionalist' all because we refuse to accept the last forty years of feminized clergy preaching the Mr. Roger's, tree hugging, environmentalist, whale saving, tai chi practicing pseudo Jesus, who was a liberation theologian pushing for class struggle,..all from a lenten retreat given by Sister Rain Moondance inspired by the latest published book by Joan Chittister,.(which could double as toilet paper)! You know why the liberal elites are upset? Because the John Paul II generation understands the media and social networking. We are hip to Twitter, Facebook, Digg and MySpace and we are relentless! The dinosaurs(cause that is what you are now,..going into extinction..)are just too old to know how to use a computer! So what do they do, they attack in other ways,(maybe the New Yorker will come after us next)...They don't like the younger generation not being rebellious enough, actually reading the sources and drawing our own conclusions that 'Hey the Church makes sense on this or that issue' and 'actually Vatican II says this!'

So there you go,..Catholic Bloggers, we are the few, the proud, we will stand up for something, or else we will fall for anything. By the way, the quote by John Allen, (who is usually the most balanced voice on National Crapolic Reporter...)Yes you, Mr Allen, stop being such a pansy and come out either in favor or against. Believe me, I haven't made many friends operating this blog, but at 32, I believe the Church and am faithful to the Magisterium to the best of my ability. Am I a sinner? To quote Stone Cold Steve Austin,..'Oh Hell Yeah!!' But y'know what? Jesus died for me, and I'm gonna do my best to co-operate with Grace. (By the way, the Blessed Mother has a lot to do with my conversion) So, in closing, Mr Allen, the Apostles all went to their death for Jesus through martyrdom, (except John)we as Catholic Christians in the coming generation must be ready to do the same. Can you imagine them before the Romans saying 'it doesn't matter what you believe, or do,.because you feel,..blah, blah, blah,...' The wishy washy stuff has set us on a course which is irreversable,..two generations from now, will see our children living in the Islamic States of America and Canadastan. Why? Because, people(like you) were too timid or afraid. Mr Allen, I won't even give you credit for saying that 'to be fair, liberals act like that too.' As an educated man, you should know that despite current trends and vocabulary manipulation,..there is no such thing as 'liberal Catholicism!!!!'(Repeat it like a mantra...) The next time you get interviewed by the secular media, look down and feel between your legs,.make sure you have a set, then answer the question! Was that a little harsh? Was I being uncharitable? Be a man! By the way if you feel that way, know that around the corner from me there is a Muslim family with 5 children,.they live next door to a homosexual couple.

Our Lady of Fatima,....Ora pro nobis

Orwellian Stupidity,..and the Separatists.

Living in 'la belle province' can have its advantages and disadvantages especially with regards to what side of the political coin you fall on. You see, Canadians as a whole, well we are not exactly known for our patriotism unless of course its a sporting event. No, we tend to be very timid and will often express ourselves by our parents cultural heritage and leanings. For instance, I might identify myself as half Italian, half Irish/Scottish with some french Canadien blood. This of course can cause at times a lack of patriotic unity especially in Canada, where the Quebecois have more or less a monopoly on patriotism. To be fair, there is nothing wrong with being patriotic, and at times we can use some of our American friends' zeal,.(I often think of Hulk Hogan's entrance music,..'I am a Real American')in order to foster better Canadian unity!

But alas,I'm what you consider an 'allophone' living in the most xenophobic part of North America! Sometimes our language laws can compare with pre confederate union US states! You think I'm kidding? Well,.it is illegal for me to publish material in English even if my entire company was majority english,..Ici,.C'est en francais!
So this brings me to this week's rant,..err sorry blog post. Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, travelled to Washington in order to meet with 'high level' members of the government and various think tanks. Well,.of course, Mr Duceppe, the separatist, barely made a dent in the politcal fabric if he was even mentioned at all. What I find most interesting is the fact that none of the local media went with him and instead relied on BQ and PQ (Parti Quebecois) spin doctors and campaign managers to declare what a success the trip was! The media outlets here, namely the Peladeau inspired 'nationalist' (that's code for separatist) newspapers were too eager to print their versions of revisionist politics. Smashing success! Duceppe meets with high level diplomats were some of the articles. The reality however is much different,..It barely made the ticker on CNN, (As a matter of fact, I wonder aloud if it actually did!)

Once a month, I take one post and laugh at the separatists, because, well, I can. The economic downturn experienced in this province during the 1980s is well documented. The sad reality, at the provincial level, is that there is no real alternative to the governing liberal party of Quebec. Jean Charest as corrupt as he is, will still have the vote of all anglophones, majority allophones, and at least one third of the francophones. In an interesting development, Marois's numbers plunged when two former PQ ministers threw out the idea of creating a nationalist party and shelving separation, and according to polls they would come in!!!!!

Remember, Je me souviens,..the international community laughs at you. You are not comparable to the Palestinian cause,.The USA doesn't care,..Y'know,.like or not, at least I'm telling you the truth!

Peace.

G.K. Chesterton,.....pray for us!

Saint Andre de Montreal.

Well,..this is my second post today and it will be one devoid of any comedy or sarcasm. Tomorrow, in Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI will canonize Brother Andre and officially declare him a Saint. Born August 9th 1845, Alfred Bessett became the Holy Cross brother known as Brother Andre. Anyone from anywhere in the world who has taken a trip to St Joseph's Oratory in Montreal knows of his miraculous healings. One such healing occured in 1935, in the St Henri district of Montreal. Well at least the recipient of that miraculous healing was from that district. At the time, he was a newborn striken with an ear infection, and at that time medicine being what it was,..was well essentially limited if not primitive. Through the intercession of St Joseph,.the ear infection was cured.

A quick visit to the Oratory leaves any visitor marked with a sense of the sacred. Entering usually through the crypt,.praying at Brother Andre's tomb,.gazing at the multitude of crutches lining the structure reminds people of their Faith in God,.their Catholic roots and the solidarity of being strong in the face of adversity,..the Oratory well its just too awesome to condense into a few words. In the coming weeks, I'll delve into the Oratory of Montreal or Mont Royal and thus straight into the heart of the Canadian Catholic infrastructure....Ohhhh,..By the way, the cure I made reference to, the newborn,.he is my uncle Joe, a living witness to the power of the Faith of brother Andre.

St Andre,......prier pour nous.

Theology on Tap?,.....Nah,...THEOLOGY IN DA GYM!!!

Several weeks back an interesting thing transpired at the gym while I was working out,..my friend posed me some questions regarding the Faith and how to better integrate himself into it. You see, he is a young father, and to put it bluntly a man's man. That being, and we've all been there, sometimes going to Mass is akin to assisting at a children's television show. The trancendance and beauty of the Liturgy which still can be found in many parishes, don't get me wrong,..has by and large been replaced these last forty years with feminized clergy,.(yes even the priests) campy songs ripe from the silly sixties or kumbaya crap people liturgies(if you can call them that) from the seventies. While I was doing bicep curls, my buddy posed these questions,..now I'm not going to insult my readership by claiming there just happened to be a camera present,..but there was one on hand so we 're-did' the scene. The message that we are trying to convey is simple. We are men, we want truth, please don't force us to do things contrary to not only the Natural Law, but our characters as well.



Obviously, this is a two minute type snippet,..yet I think the message reasonates. The next time we as men are forced to look at felt butteflies in a Church Sanctuary while we tune up the piano and sing 'We got the joy, joy,.joy,.joy,. down in my heart,' ask yourself, if this is the Liturgy Jesus envisioned as pen ultimate worship. Then follow-up and ask yourself why a vocation crisis,.why a homosexual abuse crisis,..I think you've found the answers. ****Special thanks to John Babb and camera work by Anthony Gualtieri. Finally,..Yes. I definetely need a tan. ;)

St Joseph,......Ora pro nobis.

Random thoughts of a Tortured Soul,...

Once again, its Wednesday and now its time for an introspective look into my soul, my spirit, my will and finally state of mind. Yes, it took a lot of unecessary words to express the same thing, but you love me anyway for it. As many of you know, I experienced a nervous breakdown several months back, and the road back to sanity has been lined with many roses, yet at the same time I've felt I've stepped on one too many thorns. First off, a Thank-you to all my well wishers who have emailed me asking how I'm doing. I plan on answering all of you personally, but it will take some time. Being Catholic is hard enough, being a man is hard,..but being a Catholic man in the twenty first century is almost akin to ingesting nails dipped in hydrochloric acid!

Take note, that this is the type of stuff that I speak about in Spiritual direction but also I feel the need to share with all of you,..Why? Well,.because most people ask, 'Hey Optimus,..What's wrong?' My answer will confuse them. (unless your a Transformers fan,...hehehe) I'll simply say that there are days when I feel like Rodimus instead of Optimus! (More on that later,..) I've mentioned before that I almost feel that there are two sides to me, 'pre' and 'post' conversion! Sometimes I just get so frustrated at not being able to secularly deal with issues the same way everyone else does,..so the 'why me' syndrome kicks in!



Similarities definetly abound. Our Faith in Christ is a relationship, kinda like the matrix, and like every relationship, there are its 'ups' and 'downs.' This scene happened when Deadend and Wildrider forced then Rodimus off a cliff as he was attempting to save Marissa Fairborne. I kind of feel the same way, not to go into detail, but every action, every reaction becomes a test of Faith. (I am reminded of then Cardinal Ratzinger's homily for JPII at his funeral,..about the Christian road that will hurt your feet.) Anyway, sometimes you just need to get away, and that's exactly what I do,..if not physically,.then mentally!

As human beings we are created free, free to choose what is 'good' from what is 'bad.' That being said, the 'good' is in most cases not the easiest choice, (the same way brocoli is not as tasty an option as Doritos!) Intellectually we grasp this, emotively welllllll,...not right away...





Sometimes however there comes along people in our life journey who at the right time, enable us to rethink our position and declare, 'wow' it ain't that bad! An example of this was last friday. I had the priveledge of having dinner with an individual whose own story is marked, if not downright tatooed by a series of events preventing said person from succeeding! This person's passion and dedication towards singing knows no limit and the enthusiasm and passion brought forth can be downright infectious! This person, has a story which should be published, and at the end, this person asked how I was doing with my own issues!! I couldn't believe it!! My issues, on the grand scale of things paled in comparison to this person's life story(the same way a pimple pales to cancer), and yet, I was feeling sorry for myself! Needless to say this individual taught me an invaluable lesson! At the onset of the evening, this person was asking me advice,.yet at the end, I stood in awe of a person so passionate so driven,..I felt humbled.

So what's the whole point of the Transformers in this? Well, these clips come from season 3's 'Burden Hardest to Bear.' In this episode, Rodimus can't deal with the responsibility of being the autobot leader. It in many ways, it mirrors our relationship to Christ. Sometimes we get caught up in the whole 'sappy,' 'syrupy' Christianity thing, while forgetting there is a responsibility! Would it easier to remain secular,..after all isn't ignorance bliss? Absolutely! By the way, I almost witnessed a mentally handicapped person attempt to cross a busy intersection while wearing a smile....I think you get my point. As Hot Rod/Rodimus said about the matrix, we can say about God,..'I belong to Him!'

Patron Saint of Sanity (is there one?),......Ora pro Nobis.

It's time to come home.

Okay a little weekend post here, something that I don't normally do. The last time I posted, it was an aggressive call to action! Now I appeal to your intellect. On fire Protestants need to watch this,.and luke warm Catholics can use it to bolster their Faith!





Now I'm a very ecumenical guy, but sometimes a video gets my attention so much that I have to post it! My beloved protestants/evangelicals/pentecostals/calvinists,..I'm not writing aggressively, all I'm asking is that you seriously consider the above video. One Church! The same Church that the Holy Spirit used to canonize the Bible! The same Church that gave you a moral code in accord with Natural Law! The same Church that has never changed Her doctrine, even when it becomes unpopular (Abortion/contraception). The only Church attacked inside and out,.but is STILL STANDING!!! Friends, ponder these things, pray and discern,..Western Civilization is under attack and only the Catholic Church has the antidote. It's time to come home!

Call to Action! (No,.not those guys,..err,..people,..whatever,..)

Once again kids I'm back and this time with a spiritual bazooka! A few posts ago, I mentioned that I went toe to toe with two faith-filled evangelical Christians regarding their (not God's) interpretation of Sacred Scripture and thus their drive by Christianity. Lo and behold I (again) got an email(anonymous) regarding the apparent tensions I caused in a particular marriage. It seems that I rocked the husbands world,.(meaning I mounted a reasonable defense of the Faith to cause angst)and thus he has been devouring works by Catholic scholars and finding that it makes sense. Can you imagine that!!! This women who asked me to be open minded, because she was charged with the task of getting me 'born again' is now angry because her husband is now open minded!!!Then came the Jehovah Witnesses...Yup, it seems everyone is entitled to their opinion, with of course the exception of an orthodox, metaphysically sound, rational belief in the Catholic Church!! That becomes akin to 'hate speech.'

Saturday night, I was speaking with my old pastor,.a gentle man, but one who is ultimately trapped in the nineteen sixties. For him everything is up for grabs, dogmatically,..there is no such thing as truth, only the human experience. Obviously for years, we were inundated with homilies saturated with marxist leftist calls for social justice(except abortion, or the gay agenda,..) and our liturgies reflected a laboratory experiment gone terribly wrong. The conversation although cordial was very laborious,..as he seemed quite angry.(Most liberals are...) We parted on good terms, and I said to him, that is authentic dialogue, where we are seeking Truth! Not just a warm and fuzzy appreciation of everybody's opinion. He nodded but seemed depressed by the very fact that my generation (by and large) of practicing Catholics are just that, practicing Catholics! Not dissidents!

The juxtaposition of these two events reminded me of why I started 'Confessions.' At first, I would talk about mostly issues regarding non-sensical stuff, (wrestling! hehehe..btw, I have a blog for that!) but more and more, 'Confessions' became the outlet for a thirty two year old man trying to reconcile his Faith with the world we live in,..sound familiar? It's VATICAN II!!! I felt angry in the morning, with people ignorant to the Faith, but troubled if not down right sad by the priest who lost his Faith. Vatican II is not about dissenting from the Truth, its about learning to present it in modern times! The attacks from the outside, indeed are troubling, but when they come from within, it can feel like a stab through the heart. All in all, I am beginning to once again feel tugged. I don't know what God has in store for me, because everyday is an adventure,..To conclude, I feel like I'm the living embodiment of that famous U2 song,..'I still haven't found what I'm lookin for...' Am I called to apologetics, inside as well as outside the Church? I honestly don't know.

Call to action time!! (No, not the group of aging hippies polluting the Faith of our neighbors to the south) Orthodox Catholics, we need to stand up and fight! Fight for our Church inside and out! Fight the culture of death on social issues, from the top down! (that means we start with Abortion.!!! No 'seamless garment' crap here!) We need to step up and vote candidates who do not suffer from spiritual schizophrenia,..('Uhh, I'm uh personally uhh against,..but uhhh I believe in the freedom of choice,..') You say you're Catholic? Fine, then start acting like it! Men,..we need to grow a set of balls! If your teaching catechism and presenting the tree hugging 'Mr. Rogers' environmental Jesus,..Get the f%&$ out!! How about 'Braveheart' as a Jesus model,..or better still how about JESUS (y'know, the Son of God?, The Second Person of the Holy Trinity?, Empty Tomb?,..That guy..??) as a 'Jesus' model. No longer will we tolerate 'liturgists'(that includes you 'spirit of Vatican II priests!!!) making stuff up as they go along, holding hands, having women 'religious' deliver homilies based on gaia, the earth goddess!
If you see a young priest or seminarian, encourage him! Pray for him, ask him if he wears a cassock, and tell him you'll write the Bishop of the diocese, we need good holy men to make it, not get sent to a psychologist cause they're 'rigid'or whatever,..they're actually CATHOLIC!

So there you go freako liberals, eat the pill! Heterodoxy is dead!! You want proof? Check out the Episcopalian Communion, if that doesn't convince you,..you should consider a lobotomy, you need one!



Peace.

St Jude(patron saint of hopeless causes),........Ora pro nobis.

Manhood and Spiritual Warfare..

***Before I begin this post, I would like to give a fair warning to any parents reading this, or to kids who follow this blog. I will be tackling an issue which many guys are ashamed to admit and following from my own struggle lay out a blueprint suitable for men struggling with that same issue. Due to the content, I encourage parents to read this before letting their children read this, secondly, I encourage women to read this in order to better understand the struggle that us guys go through, and finally, I'll encourage couples to read this, as a way of sanctifying their own marriages.***

As was mentioned this post is going to cut straight to the bone as only I can without pulling any punches or wishy washy stuff. Here goes. In today's day and age, men struggle with pornography addiction. period. Exclamation mark! Unfortunately 'pop' psychology has declared (infallibly...) that this is normal and healthy. Well,.Let's paint a picture,..You come home, tired wanting to 'surf' the net and lo and behold you stumble upon some suggestive pictures. Your brain, being the camera that it is, begins to process, and within thirty seconds, arousal has been initiated.

Now at this point, do I need to go into epinephrine/dopamine and every other cocktail rushing out your pituatary? Or can I just get to the meat and potatoes of the situation? I'm gonna go with the latter!! Okay Pornography, the attack is on, now gentlemen, time to mount a defense!

1. Pray!! Unite your suffering to the Cross! (Rosary, sorrowful mysteries, Jesus getting scourged at the pillar.) In my experience a powerful tag team can be the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother!!! (headed into the spiritual ring managed by St Maria Goretti!)

2. Stay calm,..remember that your free will is just that, free will! If need be, turn off your computer and as dumb as this sounds, lie on the floor, hard wood surface, (a little shout out to St Jose Maria Escriva).

Usually this will relieve the initial onslaught, only now you as a tactician need to train, thus preparing yourself for the next onslaught..So here we go, let's develop a blueprint for action!

Step one. Pray. Ask that God grant you the Grace to overcome this hurdle. Recognize it for what it is! Understand your own dignity as a human being, and the fact that the person in the image or on the screen has the same dignity,..(meaning, she could be someone's daughter, wife, mother or sister.)

Step two. Find a Spiritual director. Someone, a priest preferably, in order for you to be held accountable as you begin the battle. Start the practice of frequent confession and bathe in the Graces of absolution. This won't be won overnight, in fact in won't be won at all, until death. Christ through His merits on the cross has freed us, but our free will again remains intact.

Step three. Apply an internet adult protection setting against such stuff. This will enable you not to have access to sites containing pornography. Set it up, choose the most ludricous of passwords, strange combinations of letters and numbers, and then forget said password!!! So much for the internet!

Step four. Now that the internet is under control, the battle will rage on elsewhere, magazines, etc..Step four is corporal mortification. You don't have to beat yourself silly with a whip, a simple stone in your shoe will suffice. Needless to say, that at the end of the day, the discomfort you will feel will distract you from any other extra curricular activity of that sort, that you would have engaged in.

Step five. Keep busy. Often times, sloth leads to this particular sin. By keeping busy, our mind becomes occupied with other thoughts and actions other than those types.

So there you go, gentlemen. A blueprint for the battle that all of us face day in and day out. Remember it won't happen overnight, but don't lose courage, by the Grace of God, it will be made subject to you, not you to 'it.'(As well, it should be noted that the only difference between a Saint and a sinner, is a Saint always gets back up after being knocked down!,..The sinner on the other hand stays down!) We should now be ready for battle! Allright,,. bring it on!!!!


St Maria Goretti,...ora pro nobis.

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus

Over the last few years since my reversion, I have had the opportunity to dialogue and discuss many differing points of contention between Catholics, other Christians and members of other Faith traditions. Obviously not all these discussions have happened with a spirit of kindness and openness. Mankind, flawed as we may be suffers from the ego, and points of discussion involving 'Truth' often lead to a full blown argument. Needless to say that this of course is pointless as no good fruit may come of it. About two months ago, I received a most curious email, but one that required me to not just write a simplistic blog post, but to amplify my answers within the context of a near full blown thesis. The question, paraphrased, 'Are non-Catholics saved?' So that being said, I hope to clarify as much of the Catholic position as possible! Here goes, enjoy and have fun!

First off, as a primer, I'll quote from Sacred Scripture,.."I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (St John 14:6) Simple enough, in this passage, Jesus clearly teaches that He is the only way to Salvation. Next up we'll go to the Church Fathers on this very topic. So here goes, St Ignatius of Antioch, in his letter to the Philadelphians, chapter three goes on to say that (paraphrase) For all who belong to Christ Jesus are with the Bishop...He latter says that people who go into schism will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (1 Cor.6:9) So far we've got a consistant model right? So the question becomes the following, are people living good lives in other religions saved? The simple answer is they can be, in a way known only to Christ Himself,.for they are saved through Christ by His merits on the Cross and by their relationship to the Church.

By now, the liberals are gushing, going God loves everybody/everything, there is no hell, blah, blah, blah,...The Conservatives, on the other hand are rigidly interpreting the 'No salvation outside the Church within the confines of a very literalistic interpretation. The Catholic Church, in her wisdom discerns that there are elements of Truth in other religions, but that truth is first and foremost Catholic truth, as it properly belongs or finds its natural end within the Catholic understanding. At this time, we can now begin to understand that with God, all things are possible, God wills all men to be saved, man however has free will and therefore a free choice. An ignorant buddhist who never heard the Gospel, yet lives as best he can by the dictates of the natural law and of his conscience can therefore be saved. How? By Christ, in a manner known to Himself, and by that person's relationship to the Church. Therefore we can conclude the Buddhist is not saved by his buddhist faith, but by Christ! St Thomas Aquinas argued that people are united to the Church (invisible) by various degrees, (in potencia...). So people not in full communion with the Church can still be receiving Grace from Her. The Church will look at these communities and religions and therefore see how much Catholic Truth they contain. Here goes:

The Fullness of God's Revelation is found in the Catholic Church...***The Orthodox Churches in the East also are true Churches, and the schism of 1054 has been removed, so by the will of the Holy Spirit, we will probably achieve unity under the Papacy two generations from now,..(In my opinion.)

Next up we have the protestant communities stemming from the 'Reformation.' Although most vary in degree within themselves, the further back you go, (Anglicanism) the more Liturgical they are. Most evangelicals only recognize two sacraments, yet they possess the Bible, a moral code, and traditional beliefs in the Trinity, and the Redemption of mankind by the cross.

After that we have Traditional Judaism,.which we can consider our elder brothers in the Faith. While we disagree on who the Messiah is, we look to them for the Old Testament. Within Judaism, its own schisms started to occur, with Reform, liberal, Hassidic, Orthodox,..you name it!

Finally within the monotheistic realm, we have the first of what we could call the great heresies. Islam. We(Catholics) affirm that they believe in one God, and to quote Vatican II (Nostra Aetate)they also profess to hold the faith of Abraham. We disagree on God's nature, and thus disagree with Master/slave imagery. To paraphrase John Paul the Great, Islam sees Christ as through broken lenses. (For more on Islam,..search for my posts on it,...)Obviously I could go on forever, considering all major religions and faith systems.

I hope this example serves well, because ultimately we are all called to evangelize. The next time we are at a funeral, and the priest unofficially canonizes the deceased, (most of the liberals do,..) gently remind them not to judge, (proclaming a person in Heaven is rendering judgement too!!) lest we be judged. It is especially important when at a funeral of a non-Catholic or non Christian. Ask that Almighty God shine His face upon them, and that at death, they had repented asking God, in their own understanding, of forgiveness. Are non-Catholics saved? To answer the question, I will ask if a person can get to China on a canoe without directions, I would argue they can,..but... (I think you get my point...)

Sorry for the drab post today,..but I hope I made sense...

St Thomas Aquinas,....ora pro nobis.

Beatification of Cardinal Newman,...

Just a brief note today regarding the upcoming Beatification of Cardinal Newman, for which the Pope has undertaken a courageous trip to England. Why courageous? Simply because Britain has lost its marbles decades ago, and thus has fallen into secularist limbo as it awaits its inevitable 'Islamicization.' That being said, that's a post for another day.

John Henry Newman remains one of the most influential members of what was then known as the 'Oxford' movement. Simply put a group of Anglican clergy who wished to restore many of England's more traditional Catholic beliefs. Eventually like any other intellectual he had to give assent to what is true and became a Catholic, later a Cardinal no less. His 'Apologia Pro Vita Sua' remains a masterpiece.

A quote I love,.."The gift of inspiration requires the complimentary gift of infallibility." Cardinal Newman.

Cardinal Newman,..pray for us!

What were you saying about the Church being against sex?....

Nope I'm not talking about John Paul II's magnificant opus, the Theology of the Body, I'm talking about the recent statement attributed to an Italian priest. Father Piero Gheddo, assessing the future of Europe has hit it 'bang on!' While its no secret unless you subscribe to the socialist verbal diarhhea diatribe known as progressivism, or whathever word they'll make up, that Europe is fast becoming Islamic, sooner rather than later. So what's the cure? Christians producing children!!! What a novel idea! You see, us subscribers to common sense, (closed-minded people) believe that when the penis ejaculates into the vagina, it leaves open the possibility of new life! Condoms seem to prevent this from happening, and sodomy just can't figure out how to reproduce. Until they(socialists) can succesfully participate in their selfish ventures while reproducing, it would seem that they'll resort to their mandated 1.5 children per family, if any at all. Cause' y'know, women need careers, and children are obstacles to said careers!

'No,. Your too much,' said a feminazi liberal to me yesterday at the gym. (big grin on her face) So what if it becomes muslim, its all secular anyway,.right? The fall of the Roman empire was defeated when Rome, secularized itself into oblivion,.. and by the way, Canada, our beloved home and native land, voted down 'Sharia law' in Ontario. Who knows, maybe in 100years, they won't have to vote, they'll just implement it! So let's put it all together shall we, forget Europe for a moment,.native Canadians producing little or no children, muslim immigrants producing 5-7 children...I think you see where we are headed...

Our Lady of Fatima,....ora pro nobis.

Optimusmastro reflecting on Sunday's Gospel

This vid was taken by Mike Poli over at Poli's Playground, you can link to it from my links section. The context surrounding it, was why when a Gospel so profound as the prodigal son is read, do we need to hear homilies based on water scarcity somewhere in South America? As I mention, I find myself i both sons. The one who squanders is obvious, but the bitterness the other son shows, is something we all have to work on. Jealousy, rage, envy,..all fruits from the same poisonous plant!

Yeah,..I'm back again...

Okay, forgive me, I know its usually one post a week, but this week is a little different! You see just so many things are happening on both the Catholic and the political front, that if I don't post, I may end up bodyslamming a liberal!(oh yes, I mean that literally...)

News out of Scotland! It seems the rumour mill is spinning concerning the Papal visit and the protocol used for celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There would appear to be some very uncomfortable Bishops (I'm sure aided by some lefty-looney nuns,.err sorry 'women relgious'...)mulling over the Monsignor Guido Marini statement that the Pope intends to use Latin in the Mass! As well, the Pope will probably not use the ministers of Communion (Extraordinary) because there will be an abundance of priests, prefers seven candles on the Alter, (I didn't say 'table') and prefers people receiving the Eucharist from him, to receive kneeling on the tongue. (Actually he has expressed this practice to be applied to the Universal Church.) The shock! The horror, I mean how dare this Pope exercise his role as universal shepherd! (sarcasm.)

Okay, liberals, using your flawed logic, let's break down your argument shall we?
You affirm that the Holy Spirit governs the Church, and was especially present during Vatican II. As Catholics, we affirm that the same Holy Spirit chooses the Pope, (oh wait you guys/girls/people..whatever, don't want to offend...only believe that to be the case when it goes your way!) and protects the deposit of Truth which is unchangeable and is interpreted by the Magisterium. Nevertheless, you have accepted the decision, because you are still in Communion with Rome. (at least for now...) BTW, when I reference Vatican II, I mean the pastoral council, the first of its kind, when they say it, they mean a 'fuzzy' feeling they had during the council. (Probably the same 'fuzzy' feeling Hitler had writing Mein Kampf!)

So, by deduction, both of us can state that the Holy Spirit guides the Church and that the Pope is the visible sign of unity. So let's take a look at the catechism,..

CCC 882,- The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful." For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered."- (CCC 1994, way after Vatican II...)


So there you go! My advice to all the people holding to heterodox opinions all the while occupying chancery offices around the world, you know you are, feminazi nuns and practioners of reiki, liberation theology, process theology, and general dissidents, the next time you find yourself at Mass, look for the exit signs. Ask yourself, why every Sunday, you make a free choice to remain Catholic. Then, after you've realized your selfishness, leave the Church, and find yourself a nice episcopalian community that shares your beliefs or lack thereof. Just don't endanger souls who actually care. As far as Scotland is concerned, may the Holy Father's wishes be done, if not, people should realize that the heterodox crowd are the real dictators and have been for the last forty years!

St Andrew,...Ora Pro Nobis!

Father Greg,..Reverence,..(you hear that hippie/socialist/feminazis, sorry about not being Charitable)

Check out this amazing video,..some people will nitpick,.but it is not about the rubrics so much as it is about beauty! This video provokes a deep sense of the sacred in all of us, and the fun part is that it is a Novus Ordo Mass! Good stuff Fr Greg!!!

Battle on the Homefront

It would seem all too easy no to comment about the current 'language tension' in and around my 'belle province' and supported by such luminaries as the Societe Saint Jean Baptiste as well as other fringe political zealots bordering on extreme cases of paranoia. Okay, so now that we know that his post will be more political (domestically), I will provide a primer for my international readers. First off I am completely bilingual. I choose to blog in english simply because of the law of supply and demand, in other words, more readership. That being said, I consider myself a proud Canadian and a proud Quebecer. (The latter has not been defined as to 'who' constitutes a real Quebecer.

A recent case came up whereby, the 'federalist' liberal party of Quebec had to rule restricting the number of french children allowed to seek education in english!! Translation,.if you're french-Canadian, you have no choice but to send your kids to french school, but if you're english, the choice is up to you!!! WOW!! This comes from a federalist provincial party, not the separatissssss. I hope everyone in bloggerland can see the absurdity in this equation. Oh yeah, all in the name of protecting culture and language! Ahh, living in Quebexico, and they wonder why...

Patron saint of common sense,(is there one?) Pray for us!

Patience,..a Virtue? a Vice?....

So many interesting things happen whenever I enjoy Saturday 'downtime.' Let me set the setting. I got up early in the morning, trained, (P90x Chest, Shoulders and triceps) returned home and continued working on a website for a fellow trainer. By about 2pm,.I felt mentally exhausted and thus decided to go for a drive, to decompress. My destination of choice was the Christian Book Depot, run by two of the most inspiring faith filled evangelical Christians I have ever had the privelidge of meeting. I have spoken about them before, for more info use the 'search' located on the Blog. Anyway, going through the threshold of this store makes me always feel comfortable, an overbearing sense of peace. Yes, we do disagree on some issues, but it has become an exercise in authentic ecumenism, as the Truths they do hold, I do not disagree with. This day's experiment would be a little different.

I met a couple there shopping, and through dialogue, we started to draw comparisons as lay people whereby the Gospel is not being preached faithfully. I agreed and pointed out certain areas that were in a sense 'hijacked' by politically correct feminist individuals trying to undermine the social class (abortion, homosexual agenda...). After several minutes she said her denomination, so matter of factly 'Baptist' and I in turn said 'Catholic.' Wellllllllllll,.....she might as well have heard 'child raping serial murderer/satanic idolator.' Thus my friendly conversation became an all out assault against (what she believed) my Church taught.
Oh boy, here we go,..(a silent prayer to the Holy Spirit for patience and kindness)

My friend, the owner, a very devout man, I'm sure sat praying for this lady, that I wouldn't destroy her faith,..I didn't. All I did was defend as best I can six (6) questions that were rattled off at me without having the time to answer individually. I had had enough,.so I asked the lady, can I speak now? Trying as best I could to be charitable (believe me it was hard...). 'Madam, please refrain from telling me what or what I do not believe,..if you are open, and both of us believe we possess truth, yet there can only be one truth, this would mean one of us is in error. Do you agree? I can't affirm the existence of a chair and that it doesn't exist at the same time. She replied yes. (wheww,..good start). Her first question was about Mary's Immaculate Conception. (She said that if I answered this to her satisfaction, she'd be more willing to listen in the future.

I began,.('Luke 1.) The angelic greeting uses the greek 'Kecharitomene' which is a perfect past participle. The latin vulgate translates 'Full of Grace' or 'Graced one.' This word/title appears no where else in the New Testament. I was lucky, because there were greek concordances everywhere...The angel, throughout the Bible as well as history, acts as a messenger from God. Do you agree? She replied in the affirmative. Therefore we can conclude by deduction, that God is calling her 'full of Grace.' She answered, to paraphrase, 'yeah,.I guess so..but what about this Immaculate conception?' Well,.I began, if Mary is already 'Full of Grace' and the Passion/Death/Ressurection hasn't happened yet,..it only comes toward the end of Luke's Gospel,.what becomes the natural conclusion? Answer,.that she was preserved from sin!. (The look on her face was priceless...!!!) She wasn't angry, but I think her appetite was wet for more. So I gave her my email, and left her with a thought. 'Madam, the New Testament we have today was discerned at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage under St Jerome and Pope Sylvestre. The Holy Spirit used the Church to create the Canon. How can you as a protestant, reject Tradition when the first 350years of Christianity used it.. Needless to say we left on a pleasant note.

The title of this post reflects what at one time, especially when I was confronted I would do,..either get really angry, which is wrong, or remove myself from the conversation which is equally wrong. I remembered a quote from philosophy class, that 'information will always be received by the mode of the receiver.' I had mentioned a silent prayer to the Holy Spirit,..the key is that we don't convert or save anybody, God does!!!

Happy Sunday!

Ecce Agnus Dei.

Charest, Bellemare and the London Bus Ad Campaign.

So it seems that Pope Benedict's visit to England has ruffled a few feathers,..the muslims? Nope. The atheists,..uhh not really. The Holy Father has irritated the 'progressive' catholiks(spelled intentionally that way...)and subsequently they have launched a campaign worthy of a Dennis Miller style rant exposing their ignorance as well as their intellectual acumen. Some bus ads read, 'Pope,.Ordain woman now!' while still others read 'Pope,.allow contraception now!' While the tone is somewhat authoritative, it would seem England has bigger problems to worry about. Oh let's see, the Archbishop of Canterbury backing Islamic Sharia law for one, (Hey liberals, where were you on that one?), coupled with growing secularization essentially paving the way for a future islamic state. On another blog, I read about us 'orthodox' Catholics starting ads of our own mirroring some of the requests (commands) made by these liberals to the Holy Father. Now we are all aware that the Catholic Church's dogmas are not open to debate, since they are in accord with Biblical as well as sound reasoning and discernment. Some are also based on Natural Law.,..Hey liberals, do you know what happens when a man ejaculates inside a women? Well,.the possibility of new life!! Do you what happens, when people try to physically express their love another way? (ie two men, two women,..etc?) Nothing, possible disease, resulting in openness to death. (Individual as well as cultural) Don't take my word for it, check out Europe's growth rate, and ask yourself whether or not the contraceptive industry/homosexual agenda has anything to do with it.

So let's make some ads!! I'll start. (credit Jimmy Akin's blog,..but theses are my own)

-'Pope,..Abolish winter now!, Its too cold and discriminates against summer!'

-'Pope,..Allow men to give birth now! We are entitled to motherhood as much as women!'

-'Pope,..Allow people to fly by natural means now! We should given equal opportunity alongside birds, insects and bats!'

I think you get my sarcasm...moving on.


Domestically on the Quebec/Canada front, I was asked my opinions of the Marc Bellemare case against the Quebec government and premier Jean Charest. It would seems back in 2003, Bellemare was pressured into appointing Quebec judges by Charest and some influential liberal organizors, namely construction businessman Franco Fava. My comment rests not so much on the integrity of the premier, we are after all talking about a man in his third mandate, and a former minister who is only now coming forward. Did it happen? I really don't know. What I find truly interesting is the lack of opposition pecking at the premier to undermine his credibility! Then I found out that the leader, Pauline Marois is on vacation! bahahaha!!! Wow, the separatists never cease to amuse me!

To conclude some more mail regarding questions,..(I paraphrase everything, if you've asked me a question via email, I have responded, but I ask that you would put your name, otherwise, it will be 'Hey Anonymous..'

-'What caused you to be such a staunch defender of the Catholic Church?'

Ans: Read my blog. A simplistic answer, but you'll find some of my testimony.. :)

-'Why the Transformers theme?'

Growing up, the Transformers were part of my childhood. As an adult I quickly drew a parralel between the character of G1 Optimus Prime and Aslan the Lion from the Narnia series. (CS Lewis) Both were archtypes of Christ figures. Prime laid down his life for the autobots. Besides, I think they're cool!!! : )


Agnus Dei,.qui tollis peccata mundi,...dona nobis pacem.

Politics and Religion,..the Continuation...

Back once again with another of my more religious based opinionated tirades directed towards the lefty loonies still controlling chancery offices and in some cases the Bishop's chair itself. Two events marked me this week and subsequently were amplified by Michael Voris' Vortex commentaries. It would seem two Bishops came to the forefront for extremely different reasons. Without going into detail, (namely naming them) the Bishop of Nashville decided to publically reprimand a priest who gave an interview saying some pretty ridiculous stuff. All I can say is THANK GOD! The situation occurred when a renegade priest (heretic/dissident) claimed that the Pope should apologize for the Church's teaching regarding human sexuality( no shock there, that agenda is usually the heretic's first target...) Needless to say the Bishop to credit, demamded that the priest retract his statement or face consequences.

The second situation occurred in El Paso, whereby a priest defended Church teaching and was corrected by his Bishop for not being tolerant, charitable, y'know the rest rest of the liberal buzzwords that the social justice (marxist)crowd like to peddle around. So in this situation the priest is being called on the carpet for adhering to the Magisterium. I invite all readers of this post to fast for the Bishop in question, oh hell,..I'll say it,...To grow a friggin set of Balls!!!! Think of the Apostles going to their death in the coliseum, they never watered down the Faith in order to be charitable for whatever New Age, Call to Action, Catholics United for a Common Good, National Catholic Reporter bulls---oops, getting carried away. I think you get my point. Every one of these 'groups' creates there own Jesus to softsell the Christian reality, the Cross!!!

Cardinal Ouellet, a fellow Canadian and Quebecer is now in charge of helping choose the World's Bishops. So that being said, here is a little note to the liberal mindset who read this blog, (you know who you are, the people who don't leave commentaries, but instead flood my personal email box with 'hatemail' instead of 'dialogue,' your favorite buzzword!)

Greetings,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your 'ilk' a happy extinction! Does that sound harsh? Thank-you to Fr McBrien, Sr Joan Chittister and the rest of the Looney Tunes Cast for some of the most absurd ramblings of subjective thought ever put on paper! Let's see, McBrien said that Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a step backward!!! Both Spiritually (how) and intellectually, (Yeah,..Jacques Maritain practised Adoration,..nuff said) that was a real gem! Or Joan Chittester, the Popessa, with her infallible declarations.(women's ordination) Then there is the Pope of Dissidents himself, Fr Hans Kung, the only man able to a 700page opus about Muhammed, and still the reader can't find the thesis! This is education! I thought education was studying a series of 'effects' back to the 'causes.' Oh right, that's closed minded! Anyway, its been nice knowing you, whether you schism or not in 2011 remains to be seen.

Regards,.

To conclude, this post was a little eccentric, perhaps more so than usual, but like a coakroach, a light needs to be opened so that these hippie/socialist/subjectivists can scurry back to there darkened corners.

I promise to be more upbeat next time!

St Peter,..(the real 'Rock!!' if you smellaaa what Benedict XVI is cookin!)....Ora pro nobis!

Assumption of the Blessed Mother,..Fr. Greg to the tune of Starship Troopers!!!

Hey liberals! You better get out the kryptonite, cause the Catholic Church is on her way back. John Paul II generation mobilized and ready for battle!

Back From the Abyss...

First off, thank-you to everyone who kept me in their prayers during my 'desert' time, my life underwent some changes and consequently I needed to reassess my journey from both a faith perspective as well as a medical one. I needed time to recharge my batteries and spent several days at prayer and meditation undergoing a complete auto evaluation of my life up to this point. To summarize the Faith perspective involves a promise to God made about three years ago, regarding the 'call to holiness.' In short, I was discerning whether or not I would pursue the idea of priesthood. From a traditional standpoint, this vocation should be a part of every male Catholic's life journey at some point in his life or another. After concluding that this was not my vocation, it still did not change my 'call to holiness,' and subsequently what began as a spiritual acorn was now turning into a plant. Slowly parts of my lifestyle were beginning to change and I was getting labeled 'rigid' and 'reactionary' all the while trying to balance my family, friends and my girlfriend whom I'm sure it must have been painful for. The guy she met was dying and in his place was a rigid conservative would who was not afraid to tackle the most politically incorrect of situations from abortion to gay marriage, stem cells, you name it! During this time, a huge spiritual honor was bestowed upon me,..my cousin whom I consider a sister asked me to become Godfather of the most beautiful little girl in the world, her first born. Let's face it,.today's godparent looks upon his/her calling as a mere exercise in symbolism, baptism to appease grandma and grandpa. As I discerned whether or not to accept this responsibility, I would seek out Spiritual direction to determine whether or not I was able to do this. Again, another promise was made, that should I not be called to have kids of my own, I would,to the best of my ability try to show a strong Catholic masculine presence,.and as best I could try to live out this 'call.' (My Goddaughter will be marrying a good Catholic doctor who will also serve as a permanent Deacon at the local parish, anything else will not be tolerated!! lol!! Seriously, I can be intimidating,..scroll down and look at my picture!!!lol!!)

From a medical perspective, this has caused me to suffer a nervous breakdown. I no longer understand the world and people in it! As I kid, I was given the so-called blue print regarding what the world considers success, and to a certain degree, I achieved it by age twenty-five. Yes, I still live at home, but so what? I'm an only child with parents who love me, but are getting older, can drive a car the same way a chicken can fly and really don't understand technology or the internet!! (I have been called during the day in order to come back home and put on a DVD for them!) In the end, I ran out of gas, because there just wasn't enough of me to go around, and my usual secular 'outlets' for stress no longer appealed to me.

They say, that God doesn't give you anything you can't handle, well when your in the middle of that 'anything' you begin to question. Looking back however, I can see that through my own free will, I was making choices, (painful ones) which were for the greater 'good.' God, in His infinite wisdom knew I was about to mentally collapse and put in place a safeguard, a friend whom I met at my uncle's gym, came with me on some freelance work and has since my medical leave taken over everthing and two new ventures are starting out because of it. (this series of events reminded me of the poem 'Footprints.') The Gym became a therapeutic environment and on some days my poor uncle became my psychiatrist as I tried to piece together what the heck my 'calling' in life was/is.

For right now, all is well. Yes, I am medicated and will remain that way for quite some time. My immediate concern is my health and trying not to 'breakdown.' I balance my time between personal training, and slowly am easing my way back to SEO work and marketing. (BTW, just found an exciting new artist,..check this out, she is local talent!!!! hehehe! www.suelamusic.com ) I put up a link in the 'links' section...

To conclude, so many projects, so little time,...the life of an individual cursed with a type 'A' personality!! By the way, a few readers sent me some questions regarding this site and I think that now is as good a time as any to address certain things. All questions will be paraphrased!!!

1. Why the Ads on the site?

Although 'Confessions' is first and foremost a blog about seeing the world through the eyes of a Catholic man trying to live out his faith,.there is nothing wrong with moneytizing anything. Google provides the script and based upon my posts which are primarily socio-political or religious in tone will paste ads on the site accordingly. An adsense campaign is a great way to generate a passive income stream while blogging.

2. Are you a personal Trainer?

The short answer is yes!!! Some of my links and posts involve personal training and lifestyle design. Diets, resistance training as well as another contact can be reached though the links on the side of the page. The gym where I am based out of is called Prestige Fitness and is located in Montreal, Canada.

3. Are you the same guy who operates 'Prime Wrestling Montreal?'

I get this a lot. Yes, I am that guy. Pro wrestling has always been a passion of mine since childhood. I was an NWA guy,.Flair, the Horsemen, Road Warriors, Dusty Rhodes, you name it!

4. Who is Optimusmastro?

This question is my favorite. The answer is me!!! Well, an extention of my personality with the volume cranked up to 10!!! My quote from a facebook,.is a thomist thinker expressing himself with prowrestling edge. Being Catholic doesn't mean God takes away your manhood!!!!

Well,.that's all for now

Marco/Optimusmastro

St Peter and St Paul,........Ora pro nobis!

Farewell,..for Now,...

A while back, I posted that I was diagnosed with depression, and consequently felt that this blog would act as a outlet, a mirror into my soul regarding issues that disturb me to great extents. The reason I am writing this post is to ask for prayers...The world confuses me and subsequent events have led me to experience the hardship that our Faith demands of us. The easy,comfortable way would see two people get hurt, as I don't know when this nightmare will end,.the hard way involves me going at 'it' alone and for the time being, I feel that this is the best choice for my own sanity as well as somebody else...I will be back, hopefully sooner rather than later, but I need to take care of me.

God Bless.

The Sunday Shuffle,...

I'm saying this in jest of course, because after all Sunday is a day of rest. What I like to do is basically relax and go over the events of last week, and begin preparations for next week. Of course, there is morning Mass followed by a pasta lunch with my family. (I'm Italian, remember?)

Okay, so first things first, this post will serve as a coming attraction of sorts for differents projects in the works down the pipeline. Upcoming stuff from 'Confessions' will include a first ever podcast with a famous blogger priest! If all goes well, 'Confessions' will be 'waiting in joyful hope.' (That's enough of a hint.) Secondly my posts will also revolve around some email (some of it hotmail, most of it hatemail...)regarding some touchy issues that I blog about,..can you imagine that? Me? Moi? Hitting a raw nerve with some pseudo liberal marxists still stuck in the 'silly sixties.' I think not! Remember liberals are too scared to write comments that provoke discussions, instead they flood your email with verbal diarrhea. After that I will be wrting a review for Beachbody's P90x workout system, (I moonlight as a trainer y'know...Get in touch with me via Facebook for diets and plans, or a FREE consult) which I really enjoyed. I am also an affiliate with Ignatius press, as well as Catholic singles. For all your book/social needs, simply scroll down to the bottom of this page.

To end, I would like to extend a very happy July 4th to all my American readers! As Canadians, we value your friendship and our partnership,(despite what the biased canuck media claim CBC comes to mind...)..God Bless America. To the Canadians, a belated Happy Canada Day. The reason I didn't post was that I was away at my cousins, who just happen to be the parents of my Goddaughter, also known as the cutest little girl in the world!!! Y'know, funny thing, I'm 5,9' about 180lbs of muscle and yes, very hairy,..but being a Godparent is a huge spiritual responsibility, but a constant joy!

Anyway I'm blushing,..
St Augustine,...Ora pro nobis..