Monday, July 31, 2006

The Seven Deadly Sins-PRIDE



It is becoming more and more difficult to understand the different elements of sin that separate us from the love of God. Not because God has stopped loving us but because we have replaced our love for God with a love of self over and above God.

This is not something that the world will teach you in that the very language of the worldly is meant to mislead one into an acceptance of sin most especially self sin.

We are taught from a young age to have self esteem therefore in everything we do many of us expect to be praised and complimented on our efforts. The problem begins when the praise is not forthcoming and the compliments cease, do we still feel worthy and validated? Or are we offended that our efforts have been overlooked or at worse criticized?

We are also taught to be successful in everything we attempt, as one athlete was reminded when he was in training, 'no-one remembers who ran second'. This is an unhappy truth, therefore from a very young age competitiveness is driven into us and a fierce desire to 'be the best', what the world does not teach is that these efforts come at a price. The need to win at all times may cost you your soul, is it worth it?

Another element of pride is over sensitivity in that a person will complain of any criticism directed at themselves in a peeved tone that the criticism is unfair. Or they will perceive any criticism as an attack upon their person and reputation and lash out at your lack of sensitivity to their needs. They fail to recognise this fact, who made them so important that everyone must take into account their feelings and so withhold the truth from them lest it hurt?

The consequences to the soul once pride has gained a foothold can be devastating especially if the soul fails to recognise the Hand of God at work within their lives. Oftentimes pride is Ego centric optimism in that we prize ourselves more highly than is warranted we make ourselves the centre of attention and become peeved when others don't notice us.

At times even our prayers can become pride centred or to quote an old saying 'some pray with claws'. We cannot pray to our loving God if our hearts are full of criticism of another as if God had made an aberration for creating the person who has vexed us. Many fail to look within themselves and ask if they are that perfect that they can criticize Gods own child to Him who created this aberration with equal amounts of love.

Yet again another form of pride is over zealousness. In this case even 'holiness' becomes a contest where if a person prays 3 times a day the 'over zealous' person will inform you that they pray 6 times a day. If you attend Mass 3 times a week the over zealous person will tell you that you go 5 times a week and on it goes. This type of false 'holiness' is dangerous to the soul in that they think themselves righteous and that everyone is merely jealous of them and so they will not listen to any rebukes or warnings. As St. Thomas More once said, "The Devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked." The Devil cannot stand to be corrected either.

Pride is one sin from which all others are born, as the Catholic Catechism teaches us, "Hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to the love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids sins and inflicts punishment'"(CCC 2094). When we become easily offended and quick to go on the defensive it shows us that there is an element of pride within our own souls that needs to be dealt with quickly and decisively.

The most dangerous form of pride is the person that thinks they can use the Sacraments for their own nefarious purpose. When a person holds no true repentance and does not reform their way they have become their own 'god' and will do as they please in the foolish belief that ' God loves me anyway'. God does not love or admire sin! Nothing is hidden from God, so if a soul places itself in a position where it will knowingly sin they will incur His wrath rather than His Mercy. Let us remember what Jesus said to the Pharisee's and recollect ourselves with those very words that we too will not put Gods love to the test.

Pride is essentially stealing from God in that we acclaim ourselves as our own inventors doers of our own good and give no recognition to God who is Supreme Creator and Judge of ALL.

The ultimate weapon to defeat pride is humility. A true knowledge of oneself in the eyes of God. A humble heart remains contrite and grateful that God loves them despite themselves. Humility is praising God for the work He is doing within you and to give Him the glory rather than yourself.

The best remedy to keep pride at bay is to live a life of obedience to the Church's teaching in all that we do and say.


Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Islamofacists-The Fear Factor


When we examine more closely the ideology of Islamofacists the question we need to ask is, what is driving them to attack those who embrace freedom and those who happen to be born Jewish?

If they are so sure that Islam is the ONLY 'real' religion, why then do they feel the need to destroy others who embrace and live a different belief system whether it be Jewish or Christianity?

When we look at the religion of Judaism and Christianity it becomes apparent that both of these faith structures are secure in what they hold to be true, therefore there is no need for either to impose their beliefs onto others by use of force.

What is also becoming equally apparent is that the driving force of the Islamofacists is fear, if they are so driven by fear then the question becomes why? If these Islamofacists sincerely believe that their religion is the ONLY religion, why then are they not secure in this belief?

Though fear is the motivating force which is at the core of the terrorists, hatred of the Jews and the Western world it is merely a symptom which then expresses itself in acts of violence. Hate may be the act but it is fear that kills. Along with fear and hate comes envy for the Islamofacists know that the only way they can hold onto power is through intimidation and aggression towards their fellow Muslims, which then spreads to wider regions as we are now seeing. We see in these words written many years ago a prophetic warning, even though it is fiction the words hold a chilling ring, "Yet across an immense ethereal gulf, minds that are to our minds as ours are to the beasts in the jungle, intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes and slowly and surely drew their plans against us." Those these words were written by H. G. Wells describes an alien invasion we can also look at these very words and understand the build up of Islamofacist as they also regarded the West and the freedoms we now enjoy and with envious eyes..slowly and surely the Islamofacists drew their plans against us.

Islamofactists are not driven by love of Allah, if anything they have prostituted their own core beliefs. They are driven by a perverted need to control the uncontrollable which is a persons individual right to think and decide their own destiny on their own terms. This is unacceptable to the Islamofacists who need to subjugate and terrorize all those who simply wish to follow the Tenets of their own Faith. It also applies to their own more moderate Muslims who also face this same intimidation from the more violent elements of Islam as Irshad Manji challenges her fellow Muslims with these words, "In that spirit, I'm asking Muslims in the West a very basic question: Will we remain spiritually infantile, caving to cultural pressures to clam up and conform, or will we mature into full-fledged citizens, defending the very pluralism that allows us to be in this part of the world in the first place?"

In principle Islam is not much different from Godless Communism, which denies man his inherent right to be a unique individual endowed by God to choose to love Him above all others. God gave us freedom to choose our own course, yet Islamofacists sole purpose is to deprive man of the very thing that God has bestowed upon His beloved children, free will. Instead like communism the Islamofacists believe in a collective religion where everyone must believe and think the exact same thing and like communism any sign of individuality is crushed beneath the dictatorship of the Islamofacist fist.

This fascist ideology uses the excuse that centuries ago the Christian Crusaders tried to impose their beliefs by force onto the Muslims. There is truth to this as history bears out. Does this mean that for every country who has been invaded and for all races who have suffered persecution need to go on century long feuds and kill those who may have caused pain and harm to our ancestors. Every country has its own history of persecution where the innocent were murdered but if the motto is that we must avenge our ancestors, the entire world would wipe itself out. This is the excuse the Islamofacists use as they raise their children from the nipple to the grave that the Crusades took place yesterday rather than centuries ago, therefore their ancestors need to be avenged. It is also the excuse they use to the West as they lay the burden of guilt upon Western Nations who have fallen for this method of propaganda. Once again that courageous woman, Irshad Manji, writes, "My question for non-Muslims is equally basic: Will you succumb to the intimidation of being called "racists," or will you finally challenge us Muslims to take responsibility for our role in what ails Islam?" Unfortunately the Western Nations have bought into this guilt trip as they cringe before the Islamofacists as political correctness overrides common sense!

Muslims also say that they are a religion of 'peace' if this is so then why are Christians being brutally murdered in countries such as the Sudan where the Muslims are in the majority yet still they are murdering the minority 20% of Christian Sudanese. The Islamofacists are also intimidating the Christian Sudanese to convert to Islam in order to survive as the persecutions continue to Islamocize Non Muslims. Is this not the very thing that Islamic clerics accuse Christians of doing unfoundedly so? In Algeria the news is not much better for Christians as the Algerian government outlaws any attempt for Christians to practice their faith as it is seen as a threat to Islam. Once again if Islam is so perfect a religion why do the Islamofacists fear Christians? As we know the persecutions continue in such places as Pakistan, Indonesia and other Muslim countries.

The truth is that Islam has engaged in a not so subtle war against Christianity for centuries. One only has to read about the genocide in Armenia where with German compliance the Muslims tried to annihilate an entire people. Perhaps the Islamofacists have more in common with Nazi fascism than with peace. As Adolf Hitler once said to his Generals, "Thus for the time being I have sent to the East only my 'Death's Head Units' with the orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish race or language. Only in such a way will we win the vital space that we need. Who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?"

Rather than be fooled by this guilt trip being thrust on the Western Nations, Islamofacists face a choice too, do they choose to live peacefully beside their neighbors or do they kill them? It is that simple! The choice is theirs!

In the end are we learning from history or are we repeating it?

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.









Monday, July 17, 2006

The Rise of Islamofascism As The West Slept



What makes us think that every war should mirror the last one? When we look at the history of military battles each one was fought differently, i.e., the Crimea war was much different to the First World War, the Second World War was different from the First World War, then we have the Vietnam war which once again was fought differently. Now in our own time we face another type of war, that of the terrorist war and make NO mistake it is WAR!

The world made a mistake in thinking that Islamofacism was a war between Jews and Arabs. While different Governments tut tutted as the Jewish people once again became hostages to fortune as they were kidnapped from official Olympic buildings and held hostage on air flights, still the world thought 'this is not our problem it is a Jewish problem', and then just as quickly went back to sleep. Once again as it had happened in Nazi Germany the prevailing ethos was 'it's not happening to me so it doesn't matter' took effect and now the West is feeling the consequences of that philosophy.

When Tony Blair was voted in as Prime Minister a secret under the table deal was sorted out by his Government and Islamic leaders who had been forced to flee their native lands. The Blair government in affect was ready to look the other way while vicious Islamic fundamentalist leaders such as Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri ranted his venom and hatred of the West in the streets of London. It was during this particular time under Tony Blair's watch that London was given the nickname Londonstan. By taking the road of least resistance and appeasement Tony Blair also helped orchestrate the London bombings of July 7th 2005 by proxy. You cannot appease or live peacefully beside evil, it is about as impossible as trying to tame a wild tiger by holding its tail, the tiger will eventually turn around and devour you!


The war with the Islamofacists did not happen overnight it was a progressive offensive war undertaken by these terrorists against free nations everywhere. We only have to remember back to the Iranian Embassy hostage siege where Americans were kept captive from 1979 till 1981, where once he was elected President, Ronald Reagan negotiated their release. Once President Reagan came to power, the Iranian government could not determine how tough this President would be, as he was displaying no outward signs of timidity as expressed by the preceding President.

The terror offensive did not end there, as we view a time line of intensifying violence where in 1983 the Islamofacists were responsible for bombing the U.S embassy in Beirut, Lebanon killing 63 people and injuring hundreds . A few months later another explosion hit American and French compounds murdering 241 American soldiers and 58 Frenchmen. Both bombs were counted as a victory for the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.

In 1985 we saw where once again the terrorists struck a TWA airliner as the plane was forced to fly from one country to another and though some hostages were freed this does NOT excuse the torture and murder of a U.S servicemen who happened to be on board. During this ordeal the American Government tried to make the best deal from two evils, they pressured the Israeli government into releasing 435 terrorist prisoners. As we can see in hindsight making 'deals' with terrorists only encourages them to continue in the same pattern. It was the terror organization Hezbollah who were responsible for the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.

Once again in 1985 the world watched as the cruise ship the Achille Lauro was overtaken by Palestinian Islamofacists, where they then murdered an elderly gentleman Leon Klinghoffer because his name was Jewish. It did not matter to these black hearted Muslim fascists that he was celebrating his wedding anniversary to his beloved wife, Mr. Klinghoffer's 'crime' was to have been born Jewish/American, therefore he was expendable!

The terror does not end there as Westerners were kidnapped in Lebanon in 1987 and kept hostage for years, these were NOT soldiers but ordinary American, English and Irish citizens on work visa's, they were teachers, journalists and diplomats. These terrorists even kidnapped the English negotiator Terry Waite who was trying to orchestrate the release of these hostages. As we see, negotiation does NOT work with those driven by a hatefilled ideology and NOT common sense for there is NO logic to hate! After many years of torture and brutality the hostages were finally freed including the American Terry Anderson, the Irishman Brian Keenan, John McCarthy with Terry Waite among others.

Even though the West has been under attack for these many decades many sit astonished as the war with Islamofacists intensifies. It is astounding that rather than place the blame with the terrorists many are making the mistake of blaming the victims, the Nation of Israel and America as the terror groups Hezbollah, Hamas and the Jihadists sit and laugh at the stupidity of those who have fallen for their propoganda!

Yet through all these terrorist atrocities the appeasement policy of many Governments gained ground as political leaders cringed in fear before these fascist leaders. One in particular was Omar Bari who was living in England, (while also claiming approximately 3 thousand dollars a month on welfare benefits including a car for the disabled) and here are some of the remarks made by Omar Bakri in an interview after he had been expelled from England, "I believe that one day honest Muslims in the United Kingdom will, God willing, turn it into "Islamistan," like what the first Muslims did in Eritrea and Indonesia. The great dream of Islam will come true. Muslims dream to see flags that read: "There is no god but Allah" fluttering in the wind on top of Big Ben and the House of Commons, God willing." A chilling scenario indeed!

Yet have many people reached the stage where they trust terrorist regimes which thrive in countries such as Iran, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon and place ALL the blame for these terrorist atrocities at the feet of Israel and America? Did America deserve to be hit on September 11th 2001?According to many revisionist historians and liberals they did!

When we look back at history more Muslims have murdered Muslims than any other nation on earth. The Iran/ Iraq war which lasted from 1980 until 1988 killed approximately 1 million people the slaughter was so great that one can only speculate as to the hundreds of thousands who were butchered by their fellow Muslims. The different factions of Muslims have been in an internal warfare for centuries, with the Sunni, Shiites, Sufi's and other splinters of Islam warring against each other. Yet according to many Muslims they consider themselves to be a peaceful religion. How so? Are Catholics slaughtering fellow Catholics? Are Lutherans murdering their fellow Lutherans? Are Baptists killing their fellow believers? NO! It seems only Muslims kill their own!

When the Iranian embassy was under siege in London in 1980 why did the elite British force the SAS storm the building and save the hostages? Why didn't the British government simply let Muslims murder their fellow Muslims. Once again we see that it was Muslim terrorists who held their fellow Muslims hostage. And it was a Western Power who came to the aid of the Muslims held captive!

The Muslims believe that America wishes to destroy them, then why did America go to the aid of the Muslims in the former war torn Yugoslavia? It was not an 'American war' it was very much a European issue, yet the Europeans waited on America to act and America did go to the aid of the beleaguered Muslims. When the massacre happened in Srebrencia where Ratko Mladic committed genocide against the Muslims, the Americans bombarded the Serbs till their leader Slobodan Milosevic was forced to enter into peace negotiations. We are now aware of what happened to that vile genocidal maniac the former President Milosevic. If the world did not care for Muslims, then why was Milosevic prosecuted?

Once again in Mogadishu America came to the aid of the Somali people, only to find the Muslims turn on the Americans and other Western Nations who in an effort to help the suffering people instead found themselves under attack! Can anyone forget the horrific scene of those poor dead U.S soldiers being dragged through the streets? Yet once again somehow Americans are to blame for trying to help? Here we read a recent excerpt from a Somali news report dated 2006, "Somali Muslims who fail to perform daily prayers will be killed in accordance with Qur'anic law under a new edict issued by a leading cleric in the Islamic courts union that controls Mogadishu." That's Muslim tolerance for you!

Let us also look at the scale of this issue of land. The Middle East is approximately 2,061,000 square miles, Israel on its own only takes up approximately 8,000 square miles, yet Muslims cannot bear to allow the Israeli's 8,000 square miles? Why is this so? For it is NOT the Israeli's who are telling the Iranians to leave their own land, nor are they screaming for Syria to leave their land. Yet both Iran and Syria cannot allow the Israeli people a mere 8,000 square miles? The Israeli people are willing to live peacefully beside their Muslims neighbours it is the Muslims themselves who wish to obliterate Israel from the face of the map, why? We must remember Israel is a Sovereign nation.

As for the 'Palestinian' people, when Yasser Arafat was alive he received billions of dollars in aid from Western countries to build a proper infrastructure for the Palestinian people. Yet where are the new hospitals, nursing homes, schools, playgrounds community centres, roads? Oh yes, of course the money was siphoned off into a Swiss bank account! Yet we also see these terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah are able to buy sophisticated weaponry, they can also make suicide bombs and other assorted bombs and machine guns. Who is providing and paying for this arsenal of evil?

We also often hear the word 'Jihad' mentioned yet does not Jihad mean a spiritual battle within the Muslim person and the spiritual cleansing of the soul? If so, then why are Muslims using and abusing this word in order to murder innocent people? Another question to ask is why are there NO Muslim Clerics willing to criticize this abuse of such a 'holy' word? Actually there are NO Muslim clerics willing to criticize any of the above mentioned acts of terrorism done by Hezbollah, Hamas or the Islamic Jihadists. Why?

Muslims also make the claim that Westerners are infidels and have loose or no morals, there is some justification for this thinking. Many Western countries do promote pornography, and some countries have legalized prostitution, no country is perfect. Yet is that reason enough to cause brutal acts of terrorism? Is it also not the case that when a female relative is raped the male relatives then commit what is known as honour killing in order to salvage the 'family name' and maintain its pride? Where is the compassion? There doesn't seem to be too much if you're a Muslim woman.

When we look at the Muslim faith do they not make the claim that all Muslims who are martyred will upon reaching Heaven gain for themselves 70 virgins? Here is a quote from a leader of Hamas, Muhammad Abu Wardeh, as he encourages his suicide bombers, "I described to him how God would compensate the martyr for sacrificing his life for his land. If you become a martyr, God will give you 70 virgins, 70 wives and everlasting happiness." There may be many things wrong with the West, but we do NOT deprave or sexualize Heaven into a LUST festival!

Just as we have our Desert Fathers who preached mortification, purity and holiness so that we may all enter into the Holiness that is Heaven untouched by any impurity. These are the words of Muslim fathers on their version of 'heaven', "Each time we sleep with a houri we find her virgin. Besides, the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal; the sensation that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint. Each chosen one [ie Muslim] will marry seventy [sic] houris, besides the women he married on earth, and all will have appetizing vaginas." So according to Islam Heaven is little more than a house of prostitution!

No country is perfect nor are it's people as we all are frail human beings with our own fears and vulnerabilities, this though does not drive all people to commit violent acts of atrocities because our belief system is different. Muslims also claim to be a people of peace if so then why do so many support or benignly co-operate with terrorists on a daily basis by making excuses for what is the inexcusable, crimes against humanity? It is time that the more peaceful elements of Islam raised it's voice to overcome the raucous and rabid hatred of the Islamofacists, lest they be held accountable alongside the terrorists! To paraphrase an old saying, 'evil can only prosper when good men say and do nothing'.

When the tsunami struck parts of Indonesia where the Muslims are the majority it was the Western countries who donated the MOST amount of money to the needy families. The super wealthy Muslim countries donated the LEAST! As Paul Wolowitz said, "There's been very little generosity so far from parts of the Muslim world that are big on talking about jihad and other things, but when 200,000 people - all of them Muslim in the case of Indonesia - died in this catastrophe, there's not much help forthcoming." It seems the Muslims have become very professional at taking lives, and less than generous at trying to save lives. The Israeli Government and its people donated $ 100,000 to each affected country they also dispatched 150 IDF doctors and rescue workers as well as assisting with food, 9 tonnes of medicine, water, thouands of blankets, tents, sheeting and power generators to the stricken area's. Did the Muslims reject this offer because it came from Jewish hands? NO!

Rather than attack the Jews for simply existing or America for trying to help and aid the stricken countries let us instead place the blame for terrorist attacks on the people who are at fault and that is the Islamofacists who epitomise evil in our own time and hour.

Let us pray that when the day of evil arrives God does not find us sleeping.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Spirit Warfare-The Hellish Truth



One of Satan's great achievements during this century is not only in convincing many that he doesn't exist, it also encompasses those who refuse to believe that hell exists. Hell does exist, the Bible speaks of hell as does the Catholic Church, yet hell has also become an uncomfortable teaching, why is this so?

Let us first look at what Scripture teaches us, for it says in Job, "Complete darkness is in store for him; the fire which shall consume him needs not to be fanned. The heavens shall reveal his guilt, and the earth shall rise up against him. The flood shall sweep away his house with the waters that run off in the day of God's anger. This is the portion of a wicked man, and the heritage appointed him by God." Once again Scripture teaches us, in Deuteronomy,"Since they have provoked me with their 'no-god' and angered me with their vain idols, I will provoke them with a 'no-people'; with a foolish nation I will anger them. "For by my wrath a fire is enkindled that shall rage to the depths of the nether world, Consuming the earth with its yield, and licking with flames the roots of the mountains." We are also given a warning about what awaits those who refuse to believe in the existance of hell and therefore live their lives with no accountability and a refusal to repent. As it warns in the Book of Luke when Jesus speaks of the rich man who upon death finds himself in hell, he then wishes to warn his brothers but is told it is too late, will it be too late for you?

We also read in the Catholic Catechism these words,"The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.(1035)" Do we glibly carry on in sin as if hell were for everyone else but not you?

Another great and grave danger is when people resign themselves to spending time in Purgatory, mainly because they do not wish to amend their ways even though by their continuous wrongful actions they are challenging God's Justice. If you know your behaviour is unacceptable to God and you refuse to amend or sincerely repent of your sin, then you will be lucky indeed to escape hell fire. To rely on Purgatory in order for you to continue to sin is to usurp God's Authority and to treat your Heavenly Father with ill conceived contempt. Do you think God cannot see your obstinacy and your refusal to obey His Commandments? Or do some Catholics also embrace the theory 'once Saved always Saved'?

If the Bible and the Catholic Catechism are not enough we also have our Saints who through the Mercy of God also warns us of hell. As Saint Faustina writes in her diary, "Today, I was led by an angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of conscience; the third is that one's condition will never change; the fourth is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it – a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger; the fifth torture is continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and, despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own; the sixth torture is the constant company of Satan; the seventh torture is the horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies. These are the tortures suffered by all the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture where one form of agony differs from another. I would have died at the very sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of God had not supported me. Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin. I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like. I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence." Once can see that this is a terrifying description of what awaits those who show no sorrow or remorse for their sins against the Triune Spirit.

We also see in the writings of Sister Josefa Menendez these cautious words, "I saw several souls fall into Hell, and among them was a child of fifteen, cursing her parents for not having taught her to fear God nor that there was a Hell. Her life had been a short one, she said, but full of sin, for she had given in to all that her body and passions demanded in the way of satisfaction...". We read these words that were written in 1923, to what depths must society sink too in order for us to heed these dire warnings? The children of Fatima were also shown how terrifying is the pits of hell and so a prayer was instituted within the Church, "O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy Mercy."

We need to understand in order to obtain and gain God's Mercy we must seek it with all our hearts, mind and soul and then go and sin NO more. We know that Jesus came for the sick to heal them of their sins, he mixed with the sinner but did not become defiled by their proximity. But our Lord did not come to heal us only for us to return once again in full knowledge and consent to that self same sin. That is not remorse nor is it repentance but it is presumption!

Ask yourself when was the last time your Priest gave a sermon on sin and the effects it will have on your soul? When did your Priest warn you of the consequences of unrepentant and unconfessed sin? When has your Priest spoken about hell? Also for parents when was the last time you spoke to your children of hell and the consequences of their unrepentant sins? When was the last time you spoke of chastity, purity and holiness to your children?

Who guides your conscience Hollywood, the media or God? When the Catholic Church warns us not to read certain materials who of us immediately go out and buy it? As if an author or Hollywood had all the answers and the Church has lost its relevance. When we disobey the warnings of the Catholic Church and instead do the exact opposite of its Teachings and pay little heed of its warnings then we are little better than Adam and Eve who were tempted to disobey God and succumbed to that temptation. Adam and Eve also did not heed God's Commandment or warning and so suffered the consequences of which we still feel today.

In the words of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, "To be saved for all eternity, to be damned for all eternity, and to not make your every effort to avoid the one and make sure of the other, is something inconceivable."

If hell does not exist then neither does Heaven, for if we cannot attain Heaven we will then settle for hell.


Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Today’s Christianity:




Pick and Choose Theology

There is a trend in today’s Christianity that is ever growing, and is an alarming trend that threatens the very foundations and tenets of our faith. That trend is not limited to any one geographical or denominational identifier, but, is widespread among all nations, all peoples, and all systems of Christian belief. Thousands and thousands of people who would identify themselves as Christian have willingly been led into "pick and choose" theology. Most of these pick and choosers tend to identify themselves as “progressive Christians”.

What was that? You’re asking me what is a "progressive Christian"? You sure you want the answer? Especially coming from me, one who is an unabashed conservative. You really want my answer? OK, then…you asked for it…too late to cry now, so here it is: A “progressive Christian” is a person or group of people who though they claim to be nominally Christian, do not have the faith, courage, integrity or intestinal fortitude to stand up for God and His truth, but, have the unwavering, unflinching, unmitigated gall to stand up for anything and everything that opposes God, opposes His Church, opposes the teachings of His prophets and His Apostles. They are the ones who will call sin good, and call that which is good evil.

We see these people making their outlandish and ungodly stands on television, radio, the internet, and in the print media as well. If there is a camera, a microphone or pen and paper to be had, they will do all that they can to try to destroy all that God has wrought. You will see them use terms like “social justice” where they accuse the conservatives of ignoring the poor and vulnerable while focusing on issues like abortion and same sex marriage.

I tend to think they want we conservatives to ignore abortion and same sex marriage issues, because deep down they know that theologically the “progressives” don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to those two issues. The “progressives” would like for us all to think…no, to believe that because man changes, God changes, too. I think they actually believe that God should reform to suit what they think and what they believe, and that God and His law are merely words written in a book that can be taken or discarded at will.

They really don’t understand scripture or the teachings of the Apostles and the Church, and they tend to prove so each and every time they open their mouths. For instance, when conservatives oppose the gay lifestyle that is so often promoted by these “progressives”, the progressives will tell us, and in quite a smug manner, too, that “if Jesus was walking on earth today, He would be spending His time with the gays and lesbians” and so forth. I have to agree. He more than likely would. What they fail to comprehend with what they have said, is that they themselves have just made an admission of the gay lifestyle being a sin, and that they...like all of us... are in need of His redemption. For when Jesus taught in Palestine, He was always with the sinners, and in Mark 2: 16 And the scribes and the Pharisees, seeing that he ate with publicans and sinners, said to his disciples: Why doth your master eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 17 Jesus hearing this, saith to them: They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. For I came not to call the just, but sinners. Further, they also should realize, that as His instructions to them would be as His instructions to the woman caught in adultery in John 8: 10 Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee? 11 Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more.

So, yes. I agree Jesus would be with them, and He would tell them, as He tells us all to “go and sin no more". His being with them would not be to approve their lifestyle, but, to reprove it.

What people do not want to realize, do not want to admit, is that no matter how much man changes, no matter how much the times may change, God does not change. God is not bound by time, He is beyond all time, and His ways and His thoughts are above our ways and our thoughts. God is not bound by what we may think is right or wrong, but, man is bound to honor and obey what God says is right and what He says is wrong, and there is nothing or no one who can change what God’s law is, and no matter what man may think it should be, God has told us all what His law is, and a feeble excuse on His Day of Judgment that “the times had changed” is not going to hold up. We know what His law is. It is up to each of us to do it. Calling oneself “progressive” is just an excuse to live as we please, and not as God pleases. After all, God’s way is tough. The progressive way is not, and is a way of denying that sin is indeed, sin.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.21 Woe to you that rue wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own conceits. 22 Woe to you that are mighty to drink wine, and stout men at drunkenness. 23 That justify the wicked for gifts, and take away the justice of the just from him. 24 Therefore as the tongue of the fire devoureth the stubble, and the heat of the dame consumeth it: so shall their root be as ashes, and their bud shall go up as dust: for they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and have blasphemed the word of the Holy One of Israel.

2 Timothy 4: 1 I charge thee, before God and Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead, by his coming, and his kingdom: 2 Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine. 3 For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: 4 And will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. 5 But be thou vigilant, labour in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill thy ministry. Be sober.

Copyright © 2006 Steve Smith. All Rights Reserved.






Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Focus On The Family-Parents Behaving Badly



At times we all long to escape the pressures of life and simply let the world drift by, this feeling is normal. What is abnormal is when some people take this a step too far and choose to lose themselves in illicit drugs or alcohol, this soon leads to a downward spiral which has tragic consequences for the family.

Parenting is not an easy job in fact it is the most difficult job in the world. There are enormous pressures on parents to provide the best that money can buy for their family and also in having to be present to your children almost 24 hours a day. There are NO holidays when you're simply mom or dad, there are also no sick days when you can lay in bed and recover at your leisure, parents are on the go all day every day, week in and week out.

The illegal drug industry has progressed from the tenements and infiltrated into suburbia, where ordinary mom's and dad's are now existing on a cocktail of methamphetamine, alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. Though this might provide a temporary relief as your mind is overcome with the effects of these powerful drugs it is no cure for what you are trying to escape. When you finally come out of your doped induced euphoria parents still have to face the same problems, so drugs are not the answer to anyone's main problem.

When both parents are using illegal drugs such as the above mentioned then one can state categorically you are not a good parent. Many moms and dads fool themselves into thinking that they can abuse their own bodies, break the law and still think that they can be responsible and loving parents, this is contradictory and also a false belief. As many drugs induce feelings of paranoia, delusions, hallucinations and mood swings, homicidal thoughts as well as suicidal thoughts will also take over the mind of the drug abuser.

Children are very perceptive and very intuitive but they are not mature enough to handle the enormity of dealing with a parent hooked on drugs. Some parents may wish to live with the thought that their abuse of illegal drugs is NOT affecting their children, this is a dangerous day dream as children are very much affected by their parents loss of control while in a state of mind and mood altering drugs. It is frightening for the children to witness the decline into temporary madness that overtakes the parent who is busy having their 'trip'.

A parent cannot delude themselves with the thought that they only DO drugs when their children are asleep. This may hold up for a while until the drugs completely rule the life of the mother or father and they are unable to keep up a happy family facade. There comes a time when the parents attempts to hide their drug paraphernalia is gone and their children awaken in the mornings to a doped out and aggressive mom or dad. As the instruments used to dope themselves up lay strewn across the living room floor, including used syringes and smoked out pipes, is this really a good environment for children?


There many parents who delude themselves into thinking that they are in control of their drug addiction when in fact they are not. A mother or father cannot state their favourite drug of choice, including ecstasy and then say in the same breath that they are loving and responsible parents, NO they are not! Drugs do not unwind you, they destroy you!

It is also the case that many families who belong to various religious denominations are also abusing drugs to the detriment not only of their own health but the well being of their families and community. As they soon lose perspective and forget the Commandments of God as their entire bodies scream out for their next fix.

Whether you come from a religious background or non-religious, a rock star or a media star when you take illicit drugs you are breaking the law of the land. What kind of an example are you providing for your children? A case of do as I say, not as I do, it is the height of hypocrisy and once more your children will recognise it as such.

Drugs are an insidious evil which permeates and then destroys all those around you, including yourself. There is no such thing as a 'good illicit drug' there is also no such thing as a 'harmless drug' when the main issue of taking them remains. There is no escaping the world you live in or the environment you have created, drugs are not the answer to deep seated problems, which is the inability to cope with your daily demands.

Though the world is stressful the answer of how to deal with these stresses lay not in doping them out but in facing them and then overcoming your problems with daily prayer. It is prayer that will strengthen you and help you overcome that unhappiness that is eating at your inner core. When we forget to pray we soon stop frequenting Mass which leads to a downward spiral of isolation and then desolation.

In order to overcome this compulsion and seduction of the senses it is necessary to recognise the spirit guiding this insidious attack on the family. Many medical doctors only deal with the cure and not the cause, there are not to many medical parishioners who are knowledgeable about the spiritual aspect of our inner beings. Yet this is the very reason most people take drugs, in that many people feel an emptiness and fail to understand that this inner emptiness and loneliness lay in a longing for God and not the mind altering drugs that have become so prevalent. Until people acknowledge their own inner poverty and that we cannot be all things to all people the transitory feelings of euphoria which drugs provide will always be the prostitute of what is truly lacking, a relationship with the Triune Spirit.

There is no substitute that can provide the peace that Christ speaks of, and it is this very peace that the soul longs and yearns for. In order to have this peace we need to seek God with all our hearts and not to substitute this longing by using drugs which will become a 'god' to the soul that is caught in its vicious grasp.

No parent wants to harm their children, yet that is exactly what they do when they embark on this emotional rollercoaster of the drug induced state. If you are taking drugs, then please seek out a doctor for help to overcome your addiction but the most crucial aspect, seek God and restore your relationship with the one Being who loves you above all others, which is your Heavenly Father. The soul needs more than a rehabilitation program in order to gain peace of heart and that inner contentment that can only be found in the Triune Spirit. Think not of the deeds you have done or that your behavior can never be forgiven. Trust in Jesus to restore the relationship that has been broken by sin, through the Sacraments of the Church.

"Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet". Divine Mercy.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.