Time to Change the World

Friends of Faith:

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens. ….a time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Ecc 3: 1-11 (beginning)

Would you like to change the world, but feel like it is impossible? It is not a time to be silent, it is a time to speak. It is always a time to love, unfortunately there is a lot of hate. And we are in a time of war: against the devil in who is tearing down our Christian moral values, taking away our religious freedom and imposing Islamic terrorism, but God reminds us that if we speak to promote his truth it should give us peace.

But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.  Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see.  To him be honor and eternal power. Amen. 1 Tm: 6: 11-16

Just as I was ready to turn off the politics these were the readings I heard and then I heard a homily which I hope you’ll take the time to listen to as hopefully it will give you peace as it did me:  Daily Catholic Mass - 2016-09-20 - Fr. Miguel.

Simply put God asks us to speak as our religious liberties allow – by voting –while making our decision as to how to vote using our faithful Christian conscience in making a just decision. We must not be discouraged and irritated by personalities or the current state of the morals in our nation. Instead, we are to use due diligence and form our conscience based on the Five non- negotiable Christian values -abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning and same-sex “so called marriage". More at http://www.catholic.com/ . 

Focus on the Family also reminded me that voting isn’t just about choosing a personality or the lesser of two evils in the presidential race, but rather it is about determining policies at all levels of society: local, state and national – because probably as important as the presidential race are races for our state representatives and the nomination of the judges made at every level, especially for the Supreme and District courts. www.Commit2vote2016.com

If you don’t know where to start here is the direct link to a simple comparative chart on the party platforms. How Do The Party Platforms Compare? We Break It Down. And if you want to verify the comparison copy and paste these direct links to the full platform verbiage. The democratic platform at https://www.demconvention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Democratic-Party-Platform-7.21.16-no-lines.pdf (in particular pg 19 & 37); and the republican platform at https://prod-static-ngop-pbl.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL[1]-ben_1468872234.pdf (in particular pg 31-32 & 36)

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens. ……What advantage has the worker from his toil? He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man’s ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. Ecc 3: 1-11 (conclusion)

Heavenly Father, bless our nations people and help them to wisely choose our elected officials. Guide our elected officials to uphold Christian moral values as they have been designed by God. Thank you for the gift of life at all stages from natural conception to natural death. Help us to trust in your timeless power and respect your design even when we cannot fully see it. Amen.

This is our appointed time to speak. It is our time to vote a well formed Christian conscience. May we as Christians do our part to change the world.

Blessings, 

Charlotte

Peace on Earth

Friends of Faith:

It’s probably not often enough that I pass on the writing and intellect of someone who  speaks so eloquently the truth of Catholic teaching. I hope many of you will take the time to read this in it’s entirety.

PEACE ON EARTH

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
July 6, 2015
“Thomas More is more important at this moment than at any moment since his death, even perhaps the great moment of his dying; but he is not quite so important as he will be in about a hundred years' time. He may come to be counted the greatest Englishman, or at least the greatest historical character in English history. For he was above all things historic; he represented at once a type, a turning point and an ultimate destiny. If there had not happened to be that particular man at the particular moment, the whole of history would have been different.” -- G. K. Chesterton, 1929

Catholics celebrate the feast of St. Thomas More, the great English statesman and martyr, on June 22. But the actual date of his execution was 480 years ago today, July 6, in 1535. Henry VIII had him beheaded two weeks after the judicial murder of his friend and bishop of Rochester, St. John Fisher. Both men died for refusing to accept the king’s debasement of marriage in divorcing his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and adulterously “marrying” Anne Boleyn – who later followed them both to the execution block.

The difference in their deaths, of course, is telling. More and Fisher died for principle and kept their integrity. Boleyn was simply disposed of.

It’s easy to sentimentalize More’s life. Robert Bolt’s great play, A Man for All Seasons -- later a wonderful film – captures much of the saint’s humanity, intellect and warmth. But he was also a tough public official in a bitterly conflicted time alien to the modern temperament.  More did not die, as Bolt suggests, for the sovereignty of personal conscience. That idea would have been foreign to him. Rather, More died for the sovereignty of Christian truth as taught by the Catholic Church, which he saw as accessible to all persons and obligating all consciences. In that, he very much remains a saint for our times.

Others have already done a good job of deconstructing the Supreme Court’s June 26 Obergefell v. Hodges decision forcing “gay marriage” onto the nation. Legally incoherent and impressive in its abuse of judicial power, it will have huge implications for the way Americans live their lives. Anyone who wonders what “marriage equality” really means need only watch the fallout in our laws, courts and public policies over the next decade.

Persons innocent enough to imagine that the Church might be allowed to continue her social mission without growing government interference will have an unhappy encounter with reality.

Christians have a privileged calling to respect the God-given dignity of all persons, including those with same-sex attraction. That’s fundamental to Christian love and justice. We are accountable to God for the way we treat others.

But Christians also have a duty to think clearly, and to live, teach and work for the truth about the nature of human sexuality, the purpose of marriage and the integrity of the family. No court ruling can change that. And the last thing we need from religious – including Catholic – leaders in the face of this profoundly flawed Supreme Court decision is weakness or ambiguity.

 

Half a century ago, during the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII – now St. John XXIII - - wrote a powerful text on the nature of peace. In his 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris (“Peace on Earth”), he stressed that “peace on earth -- which man throughout the ages has so longed for and sought after -- can never be established, never guaranteed, except by the diligent observance of the divinely established order" (PT, 1; emphasis added).

 

We need to consider his words carefully. No political power can change the nature of marriage or rework the meaning of family. No lobbying campaign, no president, no lawmakers and no judges can redraw the blueprint laid down by God for the well-being of the children he loves. If men and women want peace, there’s only one way to have it – by seeking and living the truth. And the truth, as Pope John told us more than five decades ago, is this: "The family, founded upon marriage freely contracted, one and indissoluble, must be regarded as the natural, primary cell of human society. The interests of the family, therefore, must be taken very specially into consideration in social and economic affairs, as well as in the spheres of faith and morals. For all of these have to do with strengthening the family and assisting it in the fulfillment of its mission" (PT, 16).

 

We cannot care for the family by trying to redefine its meaning. We cannot provide for the family by undercutting the privileged place in our culture of a woman and a man made one flesh in marriage. Nations that ignore these truths -- no matter what their intentions -- are laying the cornerstone of war and suffering. And this is not what God seeks for anyone.

 

It’s a good day, this July 6, to remember Thomas More and his witness. In the years ahead, may God give us a portion of his integrity, courage, and perseverance. We'll need it.” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. July 6, 2015

 

May all of us draw strength and courage from knowing and sharing the truth to others—so that we may find true “Peace on Earth.”

Blessings,
Charlotte

From God's Point of View

Friendsof Faith:

The readings this past week would have all fit in the condensed version of “God’s Little Instruction book for Life.”

“Cause no one to stumble in anything.” 2 Cor 6: 1 “Love your enemies.”  Mt 5: 44 “God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Cor 9: 7 “This is how you are to pray, Our Father….” Mt 6: 9 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but store up treasures in heaven.” Mt 6: 19 “No one can serve two masters, You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mt 6: 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Lk 9: 24

Have you ever looked at your life completely from God’s point of view, using God’s instruction book as your guide?

As Christians we believe God gives us everything and that everything that is good comes from God. So why is it so difficult to choose our path in life? Why is it so easy to justify the world’s point of view? How do we look to God AND to other Christians? Would it be easy for someone else to identify us as a Christian?

Do I help others to make good choices (cause no one to stumble) or do I tell others—it’s your choice, it must be right if  so and so, ……., it is the law, or everyone else is doing it? Does our law override God’s law?

Do I forgive those who hurt me, ignore me or judge me, and do I hold grudges against those who I consider enemies? Or do I pray for them as Jesus taught us?

Do I ask what I can reward myself with or do I cheerfully give my time, talent and treasures FOR the good of others?

Is it more important to make money to satisfy my own needs or is it more important to use my money for the benefit of the whole? (Do I honor God or the world?)

Are our spiritual goals as important as our earthly goals? (God or mammon/money)

What if we made His conscience ours; gave advice as if it was his; and made every choice as if he was standing next to us? Would our life look differently than it does now?

Heavenly Father, you have given us every instruction we need to live our life to achieve the greatest reward, heaven. Help us to make your goal for us our own goal. Help us to give cheerfully, pray as you taught and teach thru your counsel. Help us to make You our only master. Thank you for all of the gifts you have given me. May I use them to serve you and others and to draw me closer to you. Amen.

No human is without sin—that is why God gave us these instructions to follow, so that we can become holy in His world (heaven). This world is our practice field, a time to train and a time to condition our hearts for Him.

God gives us His expectations. May I make his point of view my own.
Blessings,
Charlotte

The "Commander" in Chief

Women of Faith:

My question today is soul searching, and yet I believe God has given us all the simple solution: Are we living by God’s commands? And the solution: WWJD!

What commands/laws have we created as humans because we “are” human?

Moses said to the people: "Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Dt 4:1-2

God says we have a choice: good or evil, God or the devil.

God says we are all equal: not that we will be treated equally by the law, but by HIM.

So what laws protecting choice and equality are of God, and what laws protecting choice and equality are of man? Do our laws protect what God designed: Life and Marriage? Or are humans redesigning God’s commands?

This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." Mk 7: 6-8

Do the laws we follow honor God’s Ten commandments? Or as the Ten Commandments have been taken off of the courthouse lawns, have God’s 10 been taken out of our moral and social compass, and therefore our human laws?

Is our government a god who is taking care of orphans and widows? Is everyone who proclaims to be “needy” really in need? What is it that we as humans really need? And have we determined that it is  government that will be the god to those who want to be taken care of, or is that the role we as humans, designed by God were given—to unselfishly take care of those in need?

All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.  Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Jas 1: 17-28, 21B-22

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. 1 Cor 2: 1-5

Our conscience is the soul God gave us as a “natural checkpoint” of right and wrong. What does our conscience tell us are the right things to teach, promote and most importantly to do?

He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. "From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy,  blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile." Mk 7:14-15, 21-23

Lord, I love your commands. From every evil way I withhold my feet, that I may keep your words. From your ordinances I turn not away, for you have instructed me. Ps 119: 97, 101-102

Lord God, Heavenly King, the Greatest Commander, may I DO what I KNOW is Your will. Help all who proclaim to be Your followers have the courage to defend the unborn (God’s orphans) and to take a stand against all who promote and allow abortion.  Help us to give encouragement to single mothers (God’s widows) who have been abandoned by fathers of unborn children. Help them to be guided to Pro-life centers who have the resources necessary to support them and their children. Thank you for Your most perfect gift, Life.  Amen.

Follow God’s Command!

Blessings,

Charlotte