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

A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Saint Luke

Feast day: October 18

Typically, I write a blog about an obscure saint of the day, but Luke overshadows the calendar.  I couldn't find much about the other saints that share this feast day with him. Much is already written about Luke by great theologians and writers far more gifted than me, and I decided not to bring coals to Newcastle, as they say, but to make a comment about something that is happening in our "modern" Catholic Church.

It has come to my attention that certain priests and lay persons are publishing dissent against the faith and criticism of Pope Francis. Rather than humbly consenting to be led by the pontiff, these persons have, instead, decided to broadcast their disapproval of his approach in blogs, on television, in newspapers, and wherever else their opinion can find a foothold.

No one ever became a saint by publishing complaints about the Pope and The Holy Catholic Church. They became protestant. Remember Martin Luther. He published his condemnation by hammering it onto the door of the church. His role in separating thousands of people from the church that Jesus founded was not rewarded in heaven, I can assure you. I am not presuming to know whether or not Luther is in heaven. He may be in heaven despite his break with the faith, but certainly not because of it.

Like most of you, I absolutely love Holy Mother Church. There are some things that bug me about the modern church in America, but it isn't helpful for me to air my grievances. I will not become a saint by doing that.

Our whole mission in life is to become saints so that we can spend eternity in heaven, gazing upon the Lord, being with Him, experiencing Him. It isn't a question of "earning" it, because no one can deserve union with God. We have to prepare ourselves to be with God by becoming more like God, so that we can be in harmony with Him.

As I study the saints throughout the years, I have yet to find one that became a saint because they publicly dissented with the Pope and the church and tried to get others involved in their dissatisfaction.

Prayer, fasting, alms giving, performing spiritual and corporeal works of mercy, forgiving our enemies and doing good toward those who harm us, loving our neighbor as much as ourselves. We know these things. They involve an emptying of ourselves and our petty egos and opinions so that we can be filled with and led by God.

If the Pope was having a mistress or stealing from the coffers or committing mortal sins, we would have to admonish the sinner, at least someone would have to be doing that, but this is not the case in the current instance. Some people, apparently, do not like his style of leadership and they are fomenting fear among the laity that Pope Francis will destroy the church by his mode of leadership.

Jesus promised us that His Church would last until the end of time and that He would be with us until the end of time. Even the "gates of hell" can not withstand the Holy Catholic Church. We have assurances from Christ Himself that no one can destroy His Church.

All of this controversy about the Pope, the current Synod, and the various factions that are trying to change the unchangeable...all of it...is a distraction and a detour away from what we have been told to do by Christ Himself.

Please join me in praying for The Church and everyone in it. Pray for Pope Francis, as he has many times asked us to do, and refrain from engaging in or encouraging this useless chatter that is exploding all around us. Continue your devotions and increase your prayers if you can. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said to remove the beam from our own eye before we try to remove the speck from our neighbor's!

Have confidence in the promises of Jesus. He will not fail.

Silver Rose Parnell
(c) copyright 2015
All rights reserved.

BREAKING NEWS: SHOCKING, SCANDALOUS DISCOVERIES IN OBAMA'S COMPUTER

A cappybarra and a dog FOUND IN THE TUB TOGETHER!!!!!

Oh, hi!  There you are.  SO nice to see you.

For the last several weeks, I have been posting and re-posting a fundraising blurb about my need for a service dog, asking people to just spread the word around so that I can get the fundraising site up and running.

YOU, however (and you know who you are), you can't be bothered to even make a supportive comment or "like" my post, what to speak of sharing it on your timeline, which is what I really need.

However, in that same span of time, you are very quick to put in your two cents' worth about political garbage that is at least mostly, if not wholly untrue.  As long as I post some kind of controversy, you are right in there with a quick retort.  Thus, the title of this blog post.  I have no breaking news about scandalous discoveries in Obama's computer.  I had to get your attention, and this was the only way to do it.

But I DO have a scandal!  The scandal is that there are so many people who call themselves Christian who, when the subject of the poor comes up, immediately have something nasty to say.  I am beginning to see that you are one of these people.  Usually, some anecdote is trotted out about people that you "know" who are "scamming the system."  Of course, you don't know them.  You don't even know their names.  You've certainly never seen their financial information or their medical records, and you DON'T have X-ray vision, don't even try to say you do.  No one knows the suffering going on inside another person.  No one knows another person's heart except God, and you ain't God, honey.

The only thing you know about these people who supposedly scam the system (if they exist at all) is what they look like.  You aren't up in their houses having tea with those folks.  They wouldn't want you there, anyway, considering the way you talk about them.

You know the Bible is FULL of references about being good to the poor and not judging.  Jesus, who was poor his whole life, is particularly fond of poor people.  He never said anywhere that you should criticize the poor, spread lies about them and gossip about their habits.  He said to help them, and if you DO help them, you are helping HIM.  He was very clear about that.

So let me be clear about this.  I am a poor person.  Yes, I am a nice old white lady with fairly good manners and a proper, modest wardrobe.  I don't smoke, drink or take drugs and you are pretty sure I don't even cuss, so when you criticize the poor, you automatically assume that I am not going to take it personally because I am not one of "them."  I've got news for you: I AM one of "them."  I am no more or less sinful than any other human being on earth, including the poor, to whom I belong.  In fact, compared to some poor people I know, I think I am much more sinful than they are.

If you can't bear to leave off criticizing the poor and spreading stories about people "scamming the system" instead of spreading God's love and compassion, I am tempted to tell you that you can just take me off your phony "friend" list on Facebook right now, because as far as I am concerned, concentrating on the sins of the poor is just another way of doing Satan's work, and I am not up for that.  On the other hand, I love you.  You are my fellow Christian, even if you are misguided.

I want to encourage you to work up some compassion for the poor and to concentrate on God's mercy instead of the (supposed) sins of others.  While you're at it, for the love of God, would you please just share the item about my service dog the next time it rolls by?  I need a proper service dog.  TWO doctors agree I need one.  The veterinarian and the breeder/trainer and the doctors are ALL on board as to the type of dog I need and the type of tasks it needs to perform.  The problem is that I am poor, and dogs, like everything else, are EXPENSIVE.

For the three people that did share my Facebook post, don't think I didn't notice.  I surely appreciate it and I thank you!

For all my other readers, please take a look at the last post of this blog and you will get the whole story about the service dog.

God bless you all

Silver Rose Parnell