SATAN INFILTRATES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Christ hands the keys to Peter

by Pietro Perugino

"And I say to thee: 'That thou art Peter; and upon this rock

I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not

prevail against it."

Matthew 16:18

It is obvious from the above quote, and others, that Jesus certainly knew that Hell and Satan are real. If you think you know better than Jesus and the Apostles who transmitted Christ's words and traditions, you are not Christian. You worship yourself instead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and you need to stop pretending that you are Catholic or Orthodox or any version of a zillion Christian denominations. "Loving" Jesus is not enough because He himself said that those who love Him follow his commandments.

You cannot get away from the Commandments if you expect to go to Heaven when you die. Jesus said that many people would come to him, crying, "Lord! Lord!" and he would send them away, saying that He does not know them. Take the hint.

I have met many people who loudly assert that, despite unrepentant flouting of Catholic moral teachings, they fully expect to be welcomed into Heaven when they die. While it is entirely up to our gracious good Lord to admit someone or not, it is a mistake to presume upon the grace of the Lord, especially if you've thumbed your nose at Him your whole life and, not only have you refused to follow His commandments, but you have loudly blabbed on Facebook that no one should have to do so.

"[E]very one that exalteth himself shall be humbled,

and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Luke 14:11

There are far too many people bitching about eternal tenets of the Catholic faith while masquerading as "faithful Catholics." Even the converts have gotten into the act, questioning Catholic moral teachings, especially, because they can't imagine giving up sexual licentiousness.

We all need to keep in mind that, while the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church that Christ founded, this does not stop Satan from attacking it continually, from without and from within. We have to be vigilant and watchful in this battle of the ages.

"And he said to his disciples: It is impossible that 

scandals should not come: but woe to him through

whom they come."

Luke 17:1

Modern man dismisses even the notion of Satan as being antiquated and laughable, while at the same time expecting "The Church" to work some kind of cosmic poo-poo magic act that will prevent evil from infesting it. Typically, respect for the authority of God and the tenets of The Faith, are either dismissed entirely or discounted until they are inconsequential. This contradiction is like a cancer among Catholics.

Satan at the Gates of Hell

I see "Catholics" on Facebook spewing resentment against The Church and arguing against ancient tenets of the faith in the mistaken belief that their opinions and weird twists of logic are somehow superior to Catholic moral teachings that were firmly established in the early church.

By infecting the hearts of Catholics with dissatisfaction and inflaming the egos of otherwise good people, Satan cultivates a wave of discontent within the faith. He likewise inspires men of evil habit and inclination to push into the seminaries and into positions of power so that their eventual unmasking as pedophiles will negatively impact the reputation of The Church and weaken the confidence of its members.

Satan is behind the lack of humility that is a huge problem in our culture. After all, it was Satan's conceit that got him kicked out of heaven to begin with. The Bible likewise speaks of the dangers of hubris in the story of Adam and Eve who disobeyed the commandments of The Lord because the serpent encouraged them to believe that The Lord had not told them The Truth. The original "fake news."

"And the serpent said to the woman:

No, you shall not die the death."

Genesis 3:4

Satan lied to Adam and Eve and told them that God's word was wrong. Satan said they would not die, but this is exactly how death was introduced into mankind. We were SUPPOSED to live in paradise with the Lord forever. All we had to do was obey the word of the Lord and do not eat the forbidden fruit. The same thing is happening today. Instead of obeying God, we are behaving like the serpent and telling everyone else that God is wrong.

Whether you choose the literal or the figurative reality of that ancient Biblical message, the meaning is the same.

Catholic moral teachings around sex attracts the most animosity from these pseudo-Catholics. They cite all sorts of reasons but fail to recognize that all the major religious traditions, especially those with a mystical bent, emphasize sexual restraint as a significant entree into the mystical life. In fact, in several of the East Indian Hindu-based religious traditions, it is recommended that husband and wife live together as brother and sister after the birth of one or two children! You think the Catholic proscription against birth control is an onerous burden? Fine. Live as brother and sister with your mate for the rest of your life. Millions of people around the world are doing it.

We all need to maintain focus on our goal. The primary purpose of the Catholic faith is to align ourselves with the Lord so that, when the time comes, we can spend eternity with him in Heaven. This isn't a grim duty. There is tremendous joy in following the Lord. He tells us Himself that He resides among us. In order to experience that contact with the Divine here on earth, we need to pay attention to the methods laid out for us and ignore Satan's whisperings.

If a Catholic is sincerely struggling with any aspect of the faith,, I recommend that they get their questions answered from reliable sources within the faith instead of blabbing their discontent all over the internet and thereby doing Satan's work for him.

Silver Rose

DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR BLESSINGS TO THOSE LESS BLESSED THAN YOU!

Last night a church lady called me and, per usual, she unleashed a torrent of complaints about her life. She was upset about all the money she has to spend on everything she needs to address her illnesses. She has grievances about the inconvenient and expensive travel she has to undertake to care for relatives. She cataloged what each annoying expense has cost her and ranted on and on about how the insurance company will not pay for specially compounded medicines, so she has to pay for them out of pocket. She listed the cost of each. She whined about the stupidity of her husband who had never bothered to learn first aid procedures. She expressed frustration with the son who interrupted our call to get further instructions about the market run upon which she has sent him.

When I remind her that I did not have the money or physical ability to travel to see my son when he was dying several years ago, the point is lost on her.

She resumed her litany of grumblings, speaking in an unbroken stream of discontent.  She was whining about her blessings, as she does every time she calls me, and it felt like abuse on my end, and clueless ingratitude on hers.

When I could stand it no more, I forcefully stopped her again. I reminded her that she was talking to someone who doesn't have the wherewithal to make any of the expenditures about which she was complaining. She barked in a nasty way that there are people worse off than me, then, incredibly, continued to regurgitate her bile into my ear.

Initially, I was stunned by her nasty comment. I wanted to tell her that at least I had the good sense not to complain to those people in Appalachia or Nigeria who are less fortunate than me, but I was thrown off for a moment by the insensitivity of her attitude, and by the time I recovered my composure, she had already resumed vomiting out the contents of her mind.

I set down the phone and walked around the room while she blabbed unendingly. I didn't want to hang up on her, and she was not going to let me speak. I started to weave a kumihimo braid for a crochet project while she continued to gripe.

"Why not hang up on her?" you may well ask. I thought about that myself. Firstly, I have met several people through her - people I like - and I wouldn't want to cause uneasiness that would result in my losing all those friendships because of the awkwardness of a break between her and me. Secondly, although she has been clumsy in her attempts at charity toward me, foisting things on me without checking to see if I even need them, I am grateful for the inclination. A great number of Americans care nothing for their fellow man, even Christians who ought to know better. She deserves credit for being better than most. Lastly, I recognize that the woman has something wrong with her. I am not the only person subjected to this bizarre behavior pattern of hers. It isn't about me.

Even so, it is very likely that we won't have much to do with one another after our last exchange. She does not tolerate disagreement with her world view or criticism of herself.  She holds you in that vise-like grip of spew and criticizes you if you dare to struggle. I had said what none of our other friends will tell her - that she complains incessantly about her blessings. During a previous phone conversation, I had also challenged some nutty idea she was parroting out of the hard right playbook - something critical of the poor. It was a bit of prejudice, tinged with a lie, and topped off by an anecdotal story that proved nothing. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate that kind of thing. The poor have enough problems without people inventing despicable stories about them.

In closing, I will tell you what that dear lady will not allow anyone to tell her:

If the person to whom you are speaking doesn't have the money to pay for the equipment to lessen the effects of her disabilities, do not bitch about the exact amounts you have had to spend to pay for yours. You have the money to alleviate your suffering, and she does not. She isn't going to care how much you resent having to spend it. The fact that you have it at all is your good fortune.

If the person to whom you are speaking has not been lucky in love and has no husband, don't complain that your husband of 30 years isn't attentive enough to your needs and doesn't salute you when you need him to do it.

If the person to whom you are speaking has lost their child to an untimely death, don't complain that yours doesn't service your needs well enough. At least yours is alive.

If the person to whom you are speaking comes from a horrible family or no family or has lost all their family, don't drone on and on about how tedious it is to have to go visit your aged parents or in-laws who have been a constant presence in your life.

If the person to whom you are speaking is in a lower socio-economic bracket than you are, don't complain about what you spent for things that she cannot afford to buy to begin with.

Finally, if you must vent and grumble about your lot in life, complain to someone in the same or better situation than you.

God bless us all

Silver Rose

BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS

Photograph by Joanie Coursien

Twenty years ago, my lifelong physical ailments began to exert extra pressure upon me, and employment was hard to come by. I was having trouble finding something that would pay for even the shabbiest apartment in the small town where I was living, so I accepted an invitation to be introduced to a slightly larger town in New Mexico, where the cost of living was less.

Thinking I could reconstitute my household after I established myself in my new digs, I sold what I could, gave away the rest, and drove myself to New Mexico, taking only what I could fit in my little car. It was a calculated risk, and I lost the bet.

El Vado Motel - Albquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque Journal Newspaper

Not long after I arrived, my body completely fell apart and I was physically unable to work. It was a shame, really, because I'd gotten a solid job with great benefits. I had to give it up.

After retiring on Social Security disability, I was notified that my father had died. His body had already been cremated! Then I learned that, inexplicably, I had been written out of his will after he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. (Gee. I wonder how THAT happened?)

Then, my only child died at age 40. My dog died. My cat died. I learned that I am slowly going blind. I know it sounds like a modern Dickens tale, but there is nothing I can do about that. It is what it is.

My son and me - in younger days

Fortunately, God has gifted me with faith, and, despite constant, chronic pain, I am in communion with Him most of the time. I am writing this blog, writing a book, crocheting various things, and planning some paintings.

While I am enjoying the company of the Divine, pedestrian logistical issues compete for attention. I had never been able to replace the furnishings I'd sold before coming here. Beautiful friends have supplied me with a couch and a chair, but my art supplies and personal papers are STILL stacked around this apartment where I have lived the last 13 years and, although I have a bed, I am unable to sleep in it.

I quite love books and have accumulated many, either from friends or from careful purchases over the years, and they are my dusty companions, waiting stolidly in unfinished pine boxes. Reference books help me pinpoint my writing in time. Art books, craft instructional manuals, cook books that echo long gone days of cooking for others, and many gilded, wonderful words pour out from the religious books that sustain me over and over again.

Pictures of Jesus, Mary and the saints are currently stacked against the wall of the living room - waiting for the last configuration to be completed. Despite the meanness of my furnishings, I typically manage to create a lush and compelling prayer corner. It is obvious where my heart inclines.

Between fitful episodes of sleeping in my recliner, like a folded human taco, I move the boxes around in various configuration. First, they were in the garage, but then I couldn't GET at them, so I moved them indoors. I've stacked them in various constellations around the apartment, but my supplies are not within easy reach, so that every time I embark upon a creative work, chaos ensues. My physical issues have gotten worse and worse over time, and I just can't rummage through the boxes any more.

I have tried to move from this location for several years now, but there is nothing affordable near church, shopping and friends - and the subsidized apartments are all in the war zones on the fringes of town. Even when something suitable becomes available, I need to get the interior organized before moving, or I'll go mad.

My recliner, where I sleep, folded like a human taco

My 64th birthday is around the corner and, as with most birthdays, I feel compelled to contemplate the course of my life. I had hoped to have done something more useful with my time here on earth. My story is certainly INTERESTING, but I'm not thrilled at being at such loose ends in the final chapter.

When I was a young woman, I used to pretend that everything was dandy when it wasn't, but I no longer have the taste for subterfuge I once did. I don't think less of myself for being disabled, and if anyone else does, well, I don't care about that. Jesus loves the sick and the poor, and that's good enough for me, so if you are reading this and snorting derisively about something in this post, I suggest you move on to more glamorous people. The magazines are full of them.

Sometimes on my birthdays I will circulate my wish list - mostly on Facebook - but I think that, this year, I will post a link here in the hopes that some of my readers may step up and order some of the items on my Amazon list. Amazon has my address and will mail to me directly.

VIEW MY WISH LIST HERE

If you are not able to help, then I ask you for your kind prayers, and bless you.

Silver Rose

Sannyasini Kaliprana

Silver Cottage Ashram Hermitage

Albuquerque, New Mexico

IS YOUR OPINION BASED ON FACT OR IMAGINATION?

I have never been very interested in politics. My interests lie elsewhere. But, during election cycles, I would learn the minimum necessary to ensure that my particular world view was represented, I would vote, and then I would forget it until the next election cycle. I had enough confidence in our constitution and our government that I figured the experts knew what they were doing. Nothing was perfect, but what could be?

This was pretty much my approach in 2016. In fact, I was going to vote for Donald Trump because he was, supposedly, a pro-life candidate. I am pro-life, but not convinced that making it illegal is the way to eliminate abortions. In addition, now that it has been legal for more than 40 years, I seriously doubt that putting the toothpaste back into the tube is possible. However, if I can vote for a candidate that is pro-life, rather than just anti-abortion, I do that.

When the Access Hollywood video came out, and I heard Trump's disgusting brags about grabbing women by "the pussy" and all the rest of it, I knew that my lazy approach to politics was over. I had to do some research. The more I learned about Trump, the more convinced I became that he was very bad for our country. I voted for Hillary Clinton as the lesser of two evils.

Since Trump came to power, I have continued to stay abreast of the news, as well as taking the time to research all the facts for each issue that has arisen. This includes watching Fox "News." (I put "News" in quotes because it does not qualify as a news channel. It is entirely opinion and propaganda.) The research skills that I developed as a writer and genealogist has helped me navigate an area in which I had little experience beforehand.

This morning I watched a video by a female judge whose opinions lay on the far right of the spectrum. She was speaking on the Fox Channel, and I take it she is a regular contributor. She labels anyone who finds fault with Trump as being "crazy."

One of the most well-known fallacies of classical logic is when someone uses an "ad hominem" argument in a debate. This is called a "fallacy" because it is not logical, i.e., one cannot arrive at a reliable conclusion by using that particular line of reasoning.

Instead of addressing the issues and defending their hero with facts, the Fox propaganda machine attacks the person who presents the facts.

In the video I watched this morning (I insert a link to it below), this woman is calling the presenters of fact "crazy", but when you watch the video clips she offers as supposed evidence of said craziness, what you see are reasonable people, seasoned professionals of the Washington political machine and other experts, expressing concern over Trump's behavior. Nothing looks or sounds crazy in those clips at all. There is no hyperbole. There is no false equivalency. There are no ad hominem arguments, and, even though it seems to ME that Trump is behaving in a really crazy fashion, they're not calling him crazy. They are calling into question what he says and does but they aren't falsely impugning his character and dismissing him as "crazy." There are legitimate questions about what he is doing - questions for which there are no answers OR there are several, competing answers.

SEE THE VIDEO HERE

NOTE: In the Fox "News" video, only snippets of interviews are shown in the video clips that are highlighted. I have seen the full interviews elsewhere, and I can tell you that divorcing the presentation of facts from the conclusions at the END of the interview makes a big difference in one's comprehension of the material being discussed.

Why do otherwise intelligent people watch this blather? Why do they parrot the Fox conclusions all over social media and in their conversations? Why do they give any credibility to Fox's obvious bias and hatred toward anyone who finds fault with the policies, words, and/or behavior of Trump?

On the fact of it, Fox is operating as a partisan arm of the hard right political movement. I suspect that people who watch it are not looking for reportage of the "news," since there isn't any. Apparently, they want to hear someone repeating back to them the opinions they already hold. Dissenting facts are irrelevant to them. They have no interest in hearing what any experts have to say about what Trump is doing, unless the expert agrees with their already-formed opinions. I have been told that nothing I offer will have any effect whatsoever on the die-hard opinions of Trump supporters. When Trump claimed that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue in broad daylight and no one would care, he was right.

I have had plenty of opportunities on social media to have exchanges with Fox News devotees, and most of them seem to get some kind of emotional satisfaction from hearing their prejudices repeated back to them. The nastier the opinion, the more they seem to like it. I am STILL shocked by the memory of hearing people shriek "lock her up!" It is frightening on so many levels.

Mostly, I have encountered people for whom nothing matters but making abortion illegal and overturning Roe v. Wade. I happen to think this is a pipe dream and that there are better ways to lessen the number of abortions in our country than to make them illegal. The problem with abortion is that women want them. They will have them, legal or not. It is the WANTING that needs to be addressed - not the legality. My disagreement is with the method that anti-abortion activists have decided is "the" method for stopping abortions, especially since the G.O.P. has so many other policies that are positively hostile to life on the planet.

It is a lot easier to make a law criminalizing it than it would be to evangelize the culture so that no one felt that they had to have an abortion or that they wanted to have one. Abortuaries would be empty if no one wanted an abortion, and, because of that fact, I am not obsessed with making it illegal, but there are plenty of people who ARE.

These "one issue" voters are Trump supporters. Apparently, they believe that the end justifies the means, which is why they do not care how many of our allies turn their backs on us. They do not care that our president is promoting authoritarian figures and dictators. They do not care that American wages have plummeted while prices for health care have soared. They do not care that there are more than 40 million poverty stricken people but food assistance has been slashed under Trump. They do not care about the safety of our drinking water. They do not care about protection of the environment. They do not care about endangered species. They do not care that we have lost 40 billion dollars in solar energy business because of Trump. They do not care if Trump lies continually, and they do not care what any of the experts have to say. All they care about is making abortion illegal, and it is going to backfire on them.

When you sacrifice the rest of the planet for the sake of unborn children, you are pitting one "class" of human beings against another. Thinking that unborn babies are more vulnerable than other populations, is a mistake. Poor people stuck in the vise-like grip of poverty and hateful governmental policies are just as helpless as the baby in the womb. They too are being killed, but at a much slower rate, more excruciatingly torturous and drawn out, but killed nonetheless. Also, when you withdraw protections for the environment, as Trump has done, you risk trying to inhabit a planet that will not support ANY type of life, born or unborn. One has to have a cohesive view with a long gaze over the horizon.

At the very least, I wish that people on the right were more honest. Instead of slandering "the left" they need to answer for themselves. If Donald Trump does something inexplicable, no one should be forced to abandon their first amendment right to inquire about it, and, if the hard right mouthpieces do not like the questions, they might try getting their dear leader to give some answers that make sense and do not change with his mental tides.

Silver Rose

IS POVERTY A PUNISHMENT FROM GOD?

Even though Jesus famously said that a rich person has a hard time getting into heaven. some modern folk have this weird idea that rich people are the chosen people of God. This is especially true in America, where we have a lot of Christians who believe and loudly proclaim that God rewards us in this life if we are obedient to him. They say things like "God wants to prosper me if I obey him."

Conversely, they believe that anyone who is poor has not been "prospered" by the Lord because they have NOT obeyed him. This Biblical bastardization amounts to an excuse to despise poor people and blame them for their troubles. After all, if they weren't "bad," God would have prospered them, right?

Wrong.

"God did not create poverty. We created poverty

because we do not share with one another."

~ Saint Teresa of Calcutta ~

The Bible and our Christian tradition very clearly teach, over and over again, that the Lord gave us free will when he created us and it is human beings who cause each other grief - not the Lord.  If we do not obey the Lord in this life, he will not accept us into heaven when we die. In the meantime, we exercise our free will. We can torment one another or love and help one another. It is all up to us.

If people are poor, it is because others are too selfish with the largesse of resources with which the human race has been gifted. Millions of people have nowhere to live because a few people think they deserve to have gold plated toilets.

Donald Trump's gold-plated sink on his airplane

(There is a toilet to match.)

Lately, I have watched good, sincere and motivated Christians, twisting themselves into knots, in order to put a good spin on some really awful life circumstances - trying to figure out what "God" is trying to teach them by the unrelenting stream of sorrows in which they nearly drown. Because of the bastardization of the Christian message, they are traumatized with self-loathing and blame themselves for their inability to pull themselves out of a crushing socio-economic corner. They do not realize they are trapped in a massive pyramid scheme, along with millions of other struggling people, who have been brainwashed by the incessant propaganda of the wealthy and those in collusion with them.

There is no dearth of resources on this wonderful planet of ours. There is more than enough for every human being to eat and live and thrive and have a little fun while we do it. The lie of scarcity, created by the rich as a tool to dislodge all the wealth and send it hurtling into their always-open maw, is a vulgar insult to the good God who made us all. It is NOT representative of the message of Jesus. In fact, it is the opposite.

"Sell your possessions and give to charity; make

yourselves purses which do not wear out, an

unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief

comes near, nor mother destroys."

~ Luke 12:33 ~

Entire books have been written about how the guys at the top of the pyramid create and cultivate the systems that serve to impoverish 99 percent of humans while 1% take their morning constitutional on a gold plated seat. That is not my specialty. I am a lone voice in the wilderness of the world, with no resources to speak of, either financially or physically, and few people will even read this blog, but advocating for the poor in this small way is all I can do on my short term on earth.

I never expected to be in this position. I am, myself, one of the millions of disabled, poor seniors in America. Ending up this way was a surprise. In addition to my "plan" to make money from my art ( admittedly, an iffy proposition), I was expecting to inherit at least enough to get me through my "golden years" without going hungry. My whole life, my father told me countless times, "when I die, kid, you're gonna be rich!" Somehow, after he got dementia and tried to start his car with a credit card, instead of his keys, I was written out of the will. You can draw your own conclusions about this fairly obvious set of circumstances.

"Open your mouth for the dumb, for the

rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth,

judge righteously, and defend the rights of

the afflicted and needy."

~ Proverbs 31:8 ~

It is because I have been the target of greedy, unprincipled people and then smashed into the corner at the bottom of the pyramid, that I am able to empathize with poor people, as a class, throughout the world. I have experienced, first hand, the greed of those more comfortable than me. I have been the subject of countless lies and misrepresentations, because thieves usually have to lie about the people that they crush under their feet in order to justify stealing from them.

Many thieves camouflage themselves as highly religious people. It is part of the long con.

At the very least, I hope to encourage the poor to take heart in the words of the Lord instead of those "Christians" that try to blame them for their poverty. If I can encourage even a handful of people to take heart and be assured of the love the Lord has for them, I will be happy.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,

where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where

thieves break through and steal."

~ Matthew 6:19 ~

Donald Trump's gold toilet

Silver Rose