On Marriage and the Demise of the Family

+JMJ

A recent study done by Rutgers University shows that marriage is on the decline in America. The study shows that cohabitation is more and more increasingly popular. Also, this study finds that people are getting married up to 5-7 years later in life then what the norm was in the 1960’s. The divorce rate is still at a significant high. However, American statistics are in fact slightly better than European countries.

There is a direct link with marriage, the family, and the welfare of the nation. One priest has said that when the family goes, so goes the Church, when the Church goes, so goes the nation. The value and meaning of family has been both attacked and weakened over the last decades. The Church has suffered greatly, not only in America but in other countries as well. And, the state of our nation, its morals and values, are slumping tremendously. Well, it appears the saying is right, no family, no Church, no nation!

We live in a secular society now. Our courts are constantly redefining the “separation of Church and state”. Many feel religion is not necessary in the modern society. Many feel religion is just a scapegoat or a crutch for the week members of society. THIS COULD BE NO FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!!! If we don’t bring Christ back into the center of society, then our families, Churches, and nations will continue to decline.

To restore the family we must focus on several important issues in today’s culture. First of all, families need to once again pray together as a family. The strength of the family lies in prayer. Those in their 70’s will recall how the family would share the evening meal together every evening. Families prayed the nightly Rosary or the litany of the day, or other prayers together as a family every night.

Second, we must stamp out abortion. Abortion is nothing but legalized murder. It fosters a culture of death rather than life, it gives people decisions and choices that only belong to God, and our view of all types of life begins to decay when we accept the option of murder. It amazes me how people even today are protesting a just war in Iraq to free millions of innocent people. Yet, today we are killing over 4,000 innocent children in this country alone every day legally. How could a mother murder her own child and then deny it of a decent burial even. This is not in keeping with the natural order, it is not in keeping with civilized order, and it certainly is not keeping the Law of God in perspective. Our nation will have to pay for this atrocity. May Christ have mercy on us and on the whole world!

Finally, we must put divorce back into its place. God’s Law says that marriage is between one man and one woman FOREVER!!! This rebukes homosexuality in all forms. It also means that divorce, according to our Lord himself, is only allowable in cases of fornication/adultery. Furthermore, if one is divorced, then remarriage is NOT permissible so long as both parties are still living. No one is allowed to break this bond of marriage without consulting the magisterium of the Church first. The Church must be involved in marriage both at inception and in the dire case of many, dissolution. The Church only has the right to approve the dissolution of marriage.

There are many more points to consider on marriage and religion in the modern world. We must work to restore marriage and religion to its proper place in society - that place is first!

+ Mason

My Proof of the Existence of Evolution

+JMJ

When I was in the 8th grade I had a teacher that tried to cram the theory of evolution down my throat every time I looked around. I wound up failing almost every test because of my protests against it. Finally, at the end of the year, I told the teacher that I believed in evolution to which he looked puzzled. I told him that after watching him all year, I believed God created man and man made a monkey out of himself. That was proof one! Click this link for proof two! http://start.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20050826/430e93c0_3ca6_1552620050826562814048

Morning-After Pill Temporary Downfall

+JMJ

An article from Earthlink today reads in part:

The government on Friday put off its long-awaited final decision on whether to sell emergency contraception without a prescription, saying the pill was safe to sell over-the-counter to adults but grappling with how to keep it out of the hands of young teenagers.

The drug's maker, Barr Pharmaceuticals, criticized the decision, questioning how the agency could acknowledge that scientific evidence supported nonprescription sales and yet not allow those sales to begin.

"It's like being in purgatory," said Barr chief executive Bruce Downey.

He thinks he knows what purgatory feels like, wait until he sees what hell feels like if he doesn’t repent of this diabolical design invented by the Evil One!

To read the full article from AP click here: http://start.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20050826/430e93c0_3ca6_1552620050826-1466570223

On Calvin and Other Schismatics

+JMJ

A dear friend of mine recently wrote an article about Calvinism. In her blog I found two points that I thought should be expounded on because in their simplicity they were found wanting. I want to publish my comment here, not with a negative intention towards her blog, but because this is an apologetics blog and there are many who really do need to hear this today. I shall take each point separately.

Comment 1 - "Some Catholics believe that the Blessed Mother never sinned …"

Personally, I know of no such Catholics. There may be, it’s possible, but not likely. We are living in an age when many doctrines of Catholicism are up for debate. This is especially true in the Official Doctrines of Mary. To say that the Blessed Mother never sinned would be an error and it isn’t the Official teaching of the Church at all. The doctrines of both the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption (Dormition) are doctrines of ancient existence in the Church, officially recognized in the past 2 centuries, however, neither one of these state that Mary never sinned. I am uncomfortable with this statement because it could appear that a “Sinless Mary” is part of the dogma of the Church, though some don’t believe it, when this is not the case at all. We both know Catholics don’t need anymore false accusations about their beliefs then what they already have. If I was a Protestant, I would see this comment and say, “See here is another false doctrine of the papist!” If anyone would say Mary never sinned, it would be a false opinion on behalf of the believer, and the Catholic Church would proclaim that as such.

Comment 2 - "To a Catholic, conversion is the first step on the path to salvation."

Conversion is not the same as being “saved”. For a faithful Catholic, conversion is an on-going process that lasts for a life time. One could have a serious moment of conversion like St. Paul on the road to Damascus, many people have this. This is still not the same as being saved though. My understanding of the Protestant being saved is a specific moment in time, when the person A- accepts he/she is a sinner B- believes on the Lord Jesus Christ C- confesses that Jesus is Lord before man. These are good points no doubt, but it is a false sense of security to say, “On such a day at such a time I got ‘saved’!” This insinuates that we are now in and have “arrived”. As long as we have breath we are on a faith journey. We are on the way of perfection that the saints speak of always. We are constantly striving for perfection, being revealed by God of our errors, and we amend our ways to become more like Him. This means a lifetime of many, many conversions.

Eternal Security simply means we are eternally secure that God will never turn His back on us, yet we can always turn our back on Him, we could fail on our way to perfection. Free will is always free. God won’t impose grace on us, he won’t impose mercy, His greatest attribute on us, nor will He impose salvation either. We are always free to choose. At the end of our lives we shall stand before God and He will judge our lives according to this way of perfection, according to both our faith and works (contrary to the false belief of many Protestants) and if found worthy He will say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” I suppose many he won’t say this to, and many Protestants could remark, but Lord I was saved on/at … and He will say, “Depart from me for I never knew you!” Woe is that person, and woe is the person that convinced that person of such an easy yet false sense of salvation. Truthfully, we have BEEN saved, we are BEING saved, and we will BE saved, through the mercy of God and according to our trust in Him.

Predestination and Election are true only in the sense that God, in His Divine Foreknowledge, HE has predestinated and elected that all mankind be saved. We have the free will to participate or not. Remember, hell was made for the fallen angels and the great adversary not us. God has never condemned one single person to eternal punishment and separation from Him, man has condemned his own self.

+ Mason

Father Gary Maier, RIP

+JMJ

Dear Family,

I am requesting your prayers for the repose of the soul of Father Gary Maier.

Father Gary was an ECUSA priest in his upper 60's. He was the 'undercover' representative to alcoholics in the Panellas Park Florida area and throughout the US, a very spiritual priest and recovering soul, who saved many lives. He was paid by the ECUSA to travel around the US, speaking to the religious in AA and NA and holding seminars, although he was not known by most people - he worked "under the radar" so to speak, and counseled many priests and the faithful. He died 2 days ago on his boat in the Gulf, apparently of a heart attack. May Our Blessed Lord take him to his bosom; he has been a good and faithful servant.

+ Mason

What is +JMJ ?

+JMJ

Greetings!

A week or so ago I was writing in my spiritual journal and my wife was spying over my shoulder for a bit. She noticed at the top of my entry the initials +JMJ and saw that it was at the top of every entry on those noticable pages. She asked the question, "What is that?" Maybe you will too as you see it at the top of every entry here.

+JMJ stands for Jesus, Mary, Joseph. One of my all-time favourite saints is St. Maria Faustina Kawoslka of Poland. She is most noted for the devotion to the Divine Mercy. She was a Polish Nun who dies in the 1930's and had many visions of our Lord and he commissioned her as the "Apostle of Divine Mercy". She always used this +JMJ before most of her entries.

Also, being the good Irishmen that I am, I love to watch the old re-runs of the 1950's and 1960's programs hosted by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. If you have ever seen the programs on EWTN you have seen him use this ascription as well.

Also, I have a small statue of Jesus (Infant of Prague), Mary (Our Lady of Grace), and St. Joseph on the top of my computer screen. These remind me of their intercessions and giudance.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph - true models of family and spirituality!

Jesus, Mary, Joseph
ora pro nobis.

+ Mason

WELCOME

+JMJ

Dear Friends,

Welcome to this new site. My purpose here is to defend the true faith and banish heresy. I welcome all comments and questions. May God Bless You!

+ Mason