Monday, November 28, 2011

'Andy'

Note,..This blog post is about politics, not individual muslims.  During a recent wave of youtube gluttony, I found myself watching several interviews with British lawyer turned Islamic nutjob Anjem Choudary.  His thoughts, yet were very clearly articulated and he did not muddle his positions, whether it be on Christians, the future of Europe and the West, and why he feels the Sharia would make the best solution to the world's problems..See here.


Now before we ruffle a few feathers, yes Christianity has had its share of crackpots and looney tune bigotry among its ranks,..luminaries such as Westboro Baptist, Bob Jones III, Peter Ruckman and even the late Fr Feeney used to advance fundamentalist ideology to the point whereby 'Judge not' was for the common folk, but these dudes would judge you straight to hell and would even question God Himself.  The point however is that both the secular and the religious called out their baffounry on the red carpet and truly made the effort to distance themselves from them.   The one common thread these wackadoodles all share is that they all once were the life of the party!  'Andy'(as he was known to friends) used to enjoy downing pints of beer with his buddies and as far as his sexual appetite went, well he can thank God there was no sharia back then because he would have been stoned to death!  Makes you kinda wonder whether his parents agree with his current ughhh,.'views' as an alternative to his previous lifestyle!



Choudrary is another story.  Raised in 'multicultural' Britain, he piggybacks off of his homeland's freedom of speech to advance an alternative ideology completely at odds with Britain!  Some might even argue completely at odds with Islam itself!  Peter Kreeft in his book, Fundamentals of the Faith, speaks about the beauty and simplicity of Islam, Pope John Paul II echoed the same viewpoint.  Irshad Manji is calling for the peace loving muslims, while Omar Brooks (another British 'dude') is sending people to hell for not being muslim!   As a Catholic, I happen to disagree on major doctrinal points regarding regarding the nature of God in Islam, but that is another story and another post. However I believe this issue is a problem within Islam because it lacks no human governance, they have no central authority to declare what is dogma and what isn't.  That being said, it can be argued that there is no true interpretation of exactly what authentic Islam is.  The moderates are branded Kafir and the Shia,..something else...


  What I believe is happening right now is essentially the Islamic version of both the protestant reformation and the enlightenment all rolled into one.  Islam, being the youngest Abrahamic religion is encountaring both secularism and full blown atheism.  Like Catholicism, Islam will have to undergo its own 'Vatican II.'  We are at a crossroads, Huntington's Clash of Civilizations or Edward Said's Orientalism?   As it stands right now, both are right.  Which one will win out?  That is the question!  As for Choudary, I respect his honesty in the same way I respected Jacques Parizeau's view of an independant Quebec.  At least they were honest...



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

Friday, November 18, 2011

Benetton Ads, CAQ and a Friday Morning Qb...

Another news story elevating my blood pressure and causing me to lift heavier is the recent Benetton 'UnHate' campaign.  For those you living above the Arctic circle who haven't seen them yet,..well get your vomit bag ready because guess what anti-Catholicism is clearly the latest 'fall fashion!'  (Oh wait a minute, according to most secular media outlets its actually in fashion all year round!)  Click here!   It seems that humanity has sunk to a new low with this one.  So aside from being the cool thing to always bash Catholicism,.there is also a picture of an Imam in it,..which is why the 'left' is also condemning the ad.  Just sayin,..'  Hey mass media, there are more protestant ministers, teachers and coaches molesting children than there are Catholic priests doing it!  The stats are there.  Either way its wrong, but your discrimination is blatanly ridiculous!  See here!  What about teachers?  See here!  I made to link protestant sources on purpose, because well you sure as anything seem to turn a blind eye!  To conclude this point, whichever person, says uhhh, yeah,..but uhhhh de Pope dude is making out wit an arab guy,..uhhh,..toke,..toke,..cough,..cough,..they are not alluding to the kid problem, I say this,..GET A CLUE!

Francois Legault launched his new party CAQ, (Coalition pour Avenir du Quebec) this week, and already speaking of the media, they were quick to criticize it!  Yes, I know that my political rants are becoming less and less frquent, but sometimes it has to be said!  For my American readership, most members of the Quebec media, (even those who work for CBC ) are card carrying members of the PQ. (Partie Quebecois.)  Article one of this party is to seperate Quebec from Canada.  The party in power right now is Jean Charest's Quebec Liberals and because of construction scandals (Yes,.. can you believe it, the mob implicated in construction?  No!!) he is about as popular as the Holy Father at a gay parade.  The problem is that people don't want to vote for the PQ because separation is going the way of the 'Spirit of VII' crowd,..ie extinction, so we don't  need to stir them up causing our dollar to be worth the same amount as a 'peso.'  The solution was Legault, himself a separatist, but the 'Rene Levesque' kind.  He called a press conference several months back and allied himself with Charles Sirois, a federalist.  The first thing they declared was that the separation movement is dead!  Which by the way is true, the only people not knowing it is some left of centre cegep (college) students who don't work and of course the Quebec media, who are constantly trying to give it CPR...So Legault now is considered a traitor and thus the media has criticized his logo,...Yes,...his logo...


I need to get to the States, I need my Cookie Crisp Cereal,...but then again, they have Obama,..

St Joseph,.......priez pour nous!


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Dear Michael Voris

Just a quick note to thank you for all the work you do over at Real Catholic TV.  As a man in his thirties, I grew up amidst the turbulent 1980s whereby being forced to attend Mass, I would often wonder why God and Jesus were so into arts and crafts.  But really?  I can vividly recall one Sunday back then when I had a game in the morning.  It was rare, because we were still somewhat sane, and stores were still closed.  My parents, allowed me to play, but I remember being rushed off the ice, into the car because we had to be at Sunday school/'catechism class.'  I remember most of the boys in class were also on my team, and we were ushered into the parish hall in full equipment, though our skates and sticks were left in the car.  Myself, I was always into religion and my Faith, but having to rush to create a cardboard butterfly to give to Father 'Feelgood' so he could put it on the table of the Lord as we all sang 'Joy Joy Joy down in my heart.,.it didn't do it for me...Yup, that April, we made our First Communion.  This Jesus dude wasn't portrayed to us as God Incarnate who died for our sins, but as a fluffy bunny rabbit who told everyone to be niiiice:)  Yayyyy!  Through shows like the Vortex, I know that I'm not alone with the above scenerio.

Now, times and things have changed!  I am now discerning priesthood, and have not hidden it.  I am still a work in progress(believe me!).  I thank you for shining a light on those bottom feeding little pissants still controlling chancery offices and vocation recruitment.  There I go being uncharitable again!  Well I will not lay down my life for some wishy washy socialist driven politically correct bullshit-a-thon!.  Newsflash!  I am a man!  I am a sinner!  I need Jesus!  I don't want to die in a state of unrepentant mortal sin!  I truly wish to live the Call to Holiness!  I need prayers!  I support!  There is a long road ahead of me,..Mr Voris,..keep up the good work, you are in my prayers!  (Spins pencil,..)

To Mr Voris' marketing stylist,..Please do something about his hair,..really,.please.  Its not cool, ..at all. ;)




Sacred Heart of Jesus,.........Have mercy on us.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Optimusmastro New Translation is Coming,...

Shootin' Straight,...

**Disclaimer,.This post will be concerning pornography in case children are reading**

A few days ago, I was asked my opinion about pornography.  Is it really that dangerous, and what's so wrong about it?  Well for starters, no one at one time was a bigger pig and womanizer than I was.  I looked at life like a giant playground and sought to fulfill every petty little fantasy I could ever have dreamed of!  Working out of a gym had its perks, and I certainly partook of it.  What was missing?  Well for one thing my smile...actually my smile was there but for all the wrong reasons.

Why was I not happy?  On the surfcace I was 'content,' moving from one sensual stimuli to the next, yet completely empty on the inside.  Imagine a cat purring as you pet it, then you stop.  The cat then stops purring, this is how society as a whole begun to view itself.  'Happiness was not 'Joy' as we understand it theologically, but simplistic 'contentment.'  Pornography operates the same way inside a man's psyche.  It emasculates a man, by offering up the sensual delight as the ideal,..only one problem though,..because that woman you see in the picture is stripped of her humanity by every chemical cocktail coursing through your brain(pituatary gland),..she becomes an object of lust, completely divorced from love.  Stability is then removed and in its place a sort of addiction forms.  So the 'ideal' ceases to be ideal and keeps changing so you can 'get off.'  The man then has difficulty maintaining a normal relationship with any girl.  Guys,..by the way, don't kid yourself,.this porn problem is an epidemic!

How does one get free from porn?  Well, the first thing is to do is to acknowledge that its there.  Society has given it a mainstream acceptability, that even driving on the autoroute, you'll see 'La Senza' ads with women in lingerie.  Ask yourself honestly, can it be argued that there is a link between pornography, contraception and abortion?  Honestly, I think this is a no brainer....The second thing to do, is to use prayer as a resource!  Jesus came to save us, so that we could be free!!!  (Are we really free guys when we look at porn on the 'Net with a box of kleenex beside us?  I think in all actuality, we look pretty freakin' ridiculous!)  Jesus knows our struggle and yes it will take time, but prayer is essential!  Thirdly, a Spiritual Director or someone we can be accountable to.  Every guy struggles with this, it is how we fight that is the issue.  Saints are sinners who fall but don't stay down,..they get back up!  My friend Bishop Tom Dowd told me that the Church is not a hotel for saints,..it is in fact a hospital for sinners! 

Do we win the battle?  Well Jesus already won it for us at Calvary.  Yes, we do have the residue of original sin, but as long as we keep fighting, offering up our suffering(s) we too can share in this victory!  I, myself am a 'work in progress' but through prayer, and accountability, I hope to get this issue under control.  One trick I did recently, was to remove the condom in my wallet and replce it with a benedictine medal and a picture of my beautiful Goddaughter Bianca.  As men, it is embedded into our character to be protective of those we love.  If I even suspected some guy of looking at her a certain way,..I would be prone to disconnecting that dude's head from the rest of his body! 

Our Lady Undoer of Knots,.............ora pro nobis.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The Protestant Spotlight...

Every now and then my blog is discovered by some 'supposed' prominent evangelical looking to convert me out of the Catholic Church by lambasting me with the same run of the mill charges that we've heard time and time again.  So 'Kevin' as I promised I'll read your material, oh wait a minute, yes, I already did read your material!  I get enough of it in the mail,..the 'Chick Tracts?..  Strangely enough, I am not moved to renounce my Faith and adopt, in my opinion a more convenient version of Christianity, or should I say a watered down version.  Perhaps, you should reread the Gospels and approach the way you evangelize in a different manner.  Our Lord never imposes, only proposes.  It is through invitation and free will that we follow Christ, if it isn't, then it isn't really a choice, is it?

By and large, I love my protestant brethren.  Dare I say, if not for them, I would not be as zealous as I am.  As Catholics, we can learn alot from our protestant friends, especially when it comes to living our Faith.  Evangelicals, in particular wear their Christian Faith on their sleeve and are not afraid to proclaim it in the public square.  They are on the front lines concerning abortion, so-called gay marriage as well as countless other societal and social issues plaguing our contemporary culture.  We agree on some points doctrinally, but yes we differ on others.  Does that mean it doesn't matter?  Absolutely it matters!!!!  For the protestant, they need to rely on natural Grace while we have access to the Sacraments!! The prots have to live their Faith so intensely, not because God is an accountant, but because they remain in imperfect communion with the Church.  Some of them do just that.  Among these evangelicals, we can find certain allies and people of good will(Billy Graham, Jack Van Impe) who honestly view the Church as just another denomination.  In short we can offer Rosaries for these people as sometimes they are but one little nudge away from the Eucharist! 

The other side of the protestant world, is the modernist mainstream crowd.  These people, seem to tolerate everything and will do anything in the name of compromise sometimes without even realizing it.  It should be noted that what seperates this group from the 'spirit of VII' group of heterodox 'catholics,' is that the mainstream protestants even tolerate authentic Catholicism, something the heterodox liberation theology crowd often has an allergic reaction to!  They care little about objective truth, and follow a 'live and let live' philosophy,..too bad they contracepted themselves and they're respective communities out of existance!  People like Pastor Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral fit this mold, Joel Osteen,..and the majority of anglicans...

The third group is where you fit in Kevin!  The anti-Catholic.  We can agree on most issues of morality and law but when it comes down to it, you see me as part and parcel of the Whore of Babylon!  Well,..not really gonna argue with your type, but I will pray for you.  I do accept you as my Christian brother, even if you don't accept me.  I do, however have a couple of questions that you might want to ask Peter Ruckman or Bob Jones III or even the grand poobaah himself, Jack T Chick!,..The first being, when was  the New Testament canonized and by whom?  The second being,. where are all your martyrs and Saints throughout your history?  Now, I'm not taking the philosophical route, or even claiming that the Bible is our (Catholic) book,..just posing some questions that'll make you think critically.  I respect the fact that you care enough for my salvation to try to persuade me to leave the Church, but I in turn am asking you, what if you come to a knowledge of Truth?  You won't be invincibly ignorant any longer,..so would you be ready to swim the Tiber because then your immortal soul could potentially be in danger?   Only God knows the human heart,. We both believe Truth exists, but only one of us can be right. 

My protestant friends, God Bless you!  Some of you live your Faith in such a way that should make Catholics (including myself) feel ashamed.  I will leave you with this,..Obviously 'Kevin' is a name I gave to someone who recently contacted me, but his type must be met with intelligent answers.  Our late Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical entitled 'Fides et Ratio' or Faith and Reason.  We must have reason, without it, faith becomes superstition.  Our Church was born 2000 years ago at Pentecost.,..Only the Church can trace an unbroken line through apostolic succession,....My friends, think, pray on it,..because the way the world is going right now, I think it is time to come home.

St Francis of Assisi,..........Ora pro nobis.

Friday, November 4, 2011

The Autobot Litany,..

The title can be a little misleading but I am a Catholic Cybertronian afterall.  Every now and then I step away from theology and Catholic issues to speak about Transformers, and finding the Catholic parrallels in them.  Specifically Transformers Generation 1.  Yup,..it can be safely said that despite my incredible superhuman strength, dangerous charisma, and ravishing good looks,..I am and will always be a geek at heart!  So as a little break from all things heterodox, today I will present you the autobot hierarchy and what Saint they remind me of!  Sooo,..here goes, Theology and Transformers!



Optimus Prime:  Much more than a regular Saint,.Optimus Prime is in many ways a Christ figure similar to Aslan the Lion from the Narnia series.  Among his attributes, courage, compassion and above all else self sacrifice for the autobot cause.  Those of us in our thirties will certainly never forget that powerful scene of Prime roaring into autobot city after the forces were depleted.  Optimus freely chose to give his life for what was right and true and in doing so, died.  Yet, as Megatron through Prime's death was defeated, Optimus came back to life to once again save humanity and the galaxy from the 'Hate' plague.  Images of 'Love' conquering 'Hate' resonate throughout Transformers.  Even as a kid, Optimus would offer insight and wisdom to a whole generation, the same generation which didn't quite grasp the idea of Optimus executing a decepticon in the life action movie.


Ultra Magnus:  Okay, admittedly this can get a little tricky, but Magnus for me always reminded me of St Peter.  Magnus was a superd general in the autobot army and like Optimus was ever ready to sarifice himself for the good of the cause.  Magnus lacked confidence the same way Peter the Apostle lacked Faith,..remember the whole walking on water from the Gospel?  Yet, still Peter was made the first Pope by Christ Himself.  Although Ultra Magnus was proven not to be the chosen one by the autobot matrix, (Rodimus) nevetheles, his natural leadership abilities made him retain his 2nd in command stature even after Optimus returned.  In the 'Rebirth' series this is evidenced as Magnus leads the defence of Cybertron. 






Rodimus Prime:  In many respects, I've always found a similarity between Rodimus and St Paul.  As Hot Rod, a case can be made that he was responsible for causing Optimus's death in the original movie.  Remember that in the NewTestament, Paul as Saul was a pharisee in charge of leading the persecution of Christians.  He (Paul) was even present at the stoning of Stephen, an early Christian martyr.  Saul was knocked from his horse on the way to Damascus experincing a vision of the Ressurected Christ.  Hot Rod was 'knocked' so to speak twice, upon Prime passing the Matrix to Magnus, Hot Rod touched it first thereby imprinting him.  As well, Hot Rod experiences his 'Damascus' moment inside Unicron when from the Matrix, Prime's voice is heard, 'Arise Rodimus Prime!'  Rodimus then becomes the central figure throughout season three, the same way that Paul becomes the central figure in the New Testament through his letters after Jesus ascends to the Father.

I will be blogging more often as of now, not making any promises, but am gonna try for twice a week, as I progress towards the discernment of the ultimate end.  Please pray for me. 

God Bless,....