Telling Government to do something ISN'T charity

You can argue whether or not the government has a positive impact on our society. But what cannot be argued from a Catholic perspective is that demanding the government do something isn't charity. Again, one could argue that we should try to influence the government to do the "right thing" but that doesn't fulfill your obligation to be charitable.

Of course, a much superior way of helping people rather than wasting your time demanding some faceless institution do it, is to just get off your lazy behind and go out there and help someone. In fact, this traditionally worked much better. Think about it. Say your brother is on hard times, tell me what's preferable:

A) Going out with a placard demanding higher social assistance or EI payments? Writing letters to MPs telling them about your brother? I mean most people don't even do that much but just assume.

B) Inviting your brother to live with you while he gets back on his feet, helping pay his bills, and also helping him find a job, driving him around etc.

Obviously B is much superior. But people don't even bother to lift a finger to help their neighbor or family member anymore. I hear the stories all the time. People will say "my mom needs help" "my brother needs help" but they don't even consider helping that person themselves.

You might be thinking, but how can I personally provide medical care? I'm not a doctor. Well maybe instead of wasting time you could have spent more time making money or had a better paying job and then you could afford these services (assuming you live in a free society where this is legal unlike Canada). I find people don't take personal responsibility anymore. They just offload it onto everyone else.

So instead of wasting countless hours trying to get the government to do something, follow one of the corporal works of mercy and help someone out yourself!

Canada's healthcare system is immoral

Just another example of Canada's immoral healthcare system. One of the only countries where seeking private healthcare is ILLEGAL. It's immoral if you are not allowed to take care of yourself or others.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-veteran-norwegian-denied-care-camp-hill-1.3611528

Harambe the Gorilla killed: A Catholic response

Harambe the Gorilla was killed the other day at the Cincinnati zoo after a kid fell in. The gorilla didn't seem to really be doing much in terms of threatening the boy but was nonetheless shot by security personnel fearing the beast would kill the boy.

Now of course the keyboard warriors of the world are all up in arms, demanding justice for this animal. I like animals. I think the silver back gorilla is an amazing creature and very interesting to watch. But no animal is equal in value to a human being. On one of the Youtube channels to which I subscribe, the guy said we should have let whatever happen to the kid because the gorilla is more valuable since there are fewer gorillas than people.

But this attitude is anti-Christian. Christ did not die to save gorillas or any other non-human animal. Sure, Harambe seemed peaceful enough, but an ape that size can kill a child in an instant. Would every be praising slow-acting security guards who let that happen? I doubt it.

Catholicism's pre-eminent theologians, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine did not even think animals had any rights per se. The only reason we had a moral imperative to treat animals in a non-cruel way, according to these thinkers, was if there was a danger the cruelty could carry over into our relationship to humans. It wasn't because the animals were so special.

Since animal souls do not survive death, they do not have eternal value. God created them to serve humanity, not the other way around. While some people bemoan the fact that there are 7 billion humans, we are not vermin or a parasite or a disease, but in fact, each one of us is loved by God, even those who hate humans.

When I see animals and nature, I am awed by God's greatness. But I can never forget that only we can spend eternity with God in heaven. Incidentally, the Christian viewpoint about animals is similar to atheists' view of human beings, i.e. we are just one of many species and deserve no special attention. Also, life is about obtaining pleasure whatever the cost, and human life is expendable if it serves the greater good. Atheists will point to the inquisition or the Crusades as examples of Christians not valuing human life, but in a "good" day atheistic regimes of the 20th century could cause more harm than those two Christian events combined, assuming they were exactly as they are popularly caricatured to have been.

It's sad that Harambe had to be killed, but it's better to kill 1000 gorillas than to let one boy die.

Taylor Marshall is Worried about Pope Francis - So are Many Others

Prominent Catholic Writer Taylor Marshall: “I feel dizzy as a Catholic”.

 

Taylor Marshall, a well-known Catholic writer, with popular books, blogs, and webcasts, says since the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, he has been dizzy as a Catholic. He clarifies, “I’m not sick to my stomach. But I’m dizzy.” In a nice way, he says he has to pray 10 times harder for Pope Francis, recognising the dangers.

 

And he’s right. For traditional and observant Catholics, Pope Francis has been a cause for concern. He is something of a loose cannon. He makes random, off-the-cuff comments all the time which lead to huge amounts of ambiguity, which the media uses to its advantage to promote its progressive agenda. Many traditional Catholics immediately jump in to defend what the pope says, no matter what. I get the feeling that they would defend literally anything he says, never criticizing it, even in its delivery, and automatically blame the media for distorting it.

 

I get that the media distorts what the pope says, but to uncritically endorse everything the pope says is imprudent, in my opinion. The pope is only guaranteed infallibility in matters of faith and morals when speaking ex cathedra. That doesn’t preclude him saying things that make no sense, are ambiguous, or downright wrong. It’s also my opinion the pope should recognize the power his words have and that not everyone understands infallibility and he should thus be very sparing in making public statements. Maybe he should consider issuing only official statements as opposed to commenting, off-the-cuff, on controversial issues from airplanes.

 

I think the pope is trying to reach out to the public, however I think this is a bad strategy. Although he has been faithful on many topics, on others it seems he is trying to offer an olive branch by issuing vague and unclear statements to placate progressives. Recently he made a shocking statement comparing l.S.l.S. trying to spread its power to Jesus sending forth the twelve apostles. Again, maybe he just meant lslam in general  is a religion seeking converts like Christianity but this obviously leads to confusion, if not anger. I believe a review team of orthodox priests or bishops would help greatly in avoiding this incidences.

 

I can see why Taylor Marshall feels fearful about this papacy. All traditional Catholics do. Catholicism has a brand. If you ask a person on the street what Catholicism means, they will (hopefully) say people observing a high moral standard, unity in belief, nuns wearing habits, large families, going to confession, and other stereotypes. In movies, the Church is usually portrayed as a place people go in times in turmoil, where they can sit silently and pray when Mass is not underway. The church is always portrayed as having traditional architecture, along with statues, holy images, and incense. Gregorian chant is sung. These things are important because they set the Church apart, they turn our gaze to heavenly things. People enter a unique and sacred realm.

 

Instead of trying to be “hip” or unnecessarily controversial or edgy, the Church and the pope should draw upon the immense treasury of Catholic teaching and writing from the past two millennia. There is no need to reinvent the wheel and it might be a good idea for the current pope to speak publicly a little less. Let’s all pray for Pope Francis.

CBC pushing agendas

Here's the deal: CBC needs to go. They've become nothing but a progressivist mouth piece. When they're not mocking or bashing Christians, and praising Muslims, they are promoting their agendas of gender-destruction and the advancement of the culture of death.

Then they get people like Neil MacDonald to do journalism-free hit pieces. Recently he wrote a real winner which ostensibly was about criticizing Trump, but went on to endlessly and pointlessly bash anyone he felt belong to the "right wing", you know that catch-all phrase for anything lefties don't like. I mean seriously, what does Trump have to do with young earth creationists? You better ask MacDonald.

So why should Canadians be forced to pay for this shoddy, extremely biased drivel? I, unlike leftists, am in favour of free speech, so by all means keep up your online, radio, and television presence but don't force everyone else to pay for it under the false pretense that it is somehow objective or necessary for Canadians. In fact, it is a cesspool of journalism's worst.

Frustrated

I'm feeling frustrated. I was going to make a video about my last blog, but nothing seemed to work... Programs didn't work, couldn't get anything going. Oh well. Maybe some other time readers.

John of God - Patron Saint of Heart Problems

John of God, who was born in Portugal in 1495, started off as a soldier and became a medical worker later in Spain. His followers founded a medical organization called the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God in 1572 and they carry out their work to this day.

St. John of God who was canonized by the Catholic Church is the patron saint of heart diseases. Working as a soldier until age 40, John later became a shepherd. With time to himself to think, he realized he was a great sinner and decided to amend his life. At first he was going to go help Christians in Muslim countries, but was convinced not to do that after hearing a great speech by St. John of Avila. John of God had great zeal for proclaiming God's message, but he was somewhat out of control and ended up in a mental asylum. While in the asylum, he was visited by John of Avila who counselled him to control himself and start a hospital, which he did, once again with great energy. John of God was known for his humility and dedication to the sick.

One particular source has an amazing story of John's humility. Here is one quote I found particularly moving:

In the beginning John went begging for money to support these poor, but soon people came to give him alms, food, and supplies because they were so impressed with his charity. Once when a fire broke out in the house, John ran back into the burning building countless times, carrying the sick out on his back. Unemployed men came to the door, and he found them work. When the archbishop called John to his office because people complained that John kept tramps and immoral women in his hospital, he was silenced by John's humility. John fell on his knees, saying, "I know of no bad person in my hospital except myself, who am unworthy to eat the bread of the poor." Another bishop who invited John to supper was so impressed by his humility that he called him John of God.

A recent development in this whole story is a new person who also calls himself John of God located in Brazil. His real name is João Teixeira de Faria. He mixes in a lot of traditional Catholicism with his brand of mysticism, New Ageism, and mediumship. I looked it up on Youtube and there was a video by Oprah where she visits his facility. Some Northern European guy was profiled who had back issues, so he visited this medium calling himself John of God. John made an incision in the man's chest (without anesthetic) while the man remained standing. It caused bleeding and he was then brought to a recovery room. The man felt the procedure had helped him.

I think it's best to keep our prayers with the traditional John of God. He is the patron saint of heart problems and diseases. Please feel free to share your stories or place your prayer intentions for a family member or friend who may have heart issues. This may be a brother, sister, mother, father, wife, husband, son, or daughter. Perhaps it's a coworker.

Ask St. John of God for his intercession. This doesn't mean the saint has magical powers on his own. Rather St. John will join his prayers with your own toward God.

Here is a prayer you can recite toward John of God (originally found here):

Saint John of God, I honor thee as the Patron of the Sick, especially of those who are afflicted by heart disease. I choose thee to be my patron and protector in my present illness. To thee I entrust my soul, my body, all my spiritual and temporal interests, as well as those of the sick throughout the world. To thee I consecrate my mind, that in all things it may be enlightened by faith above all in accepting my cross as a blessing from God; my heart, that thou doth keep it pure and fill it with the love for Jesus and Mary that burned in thy heart; my will, that like thine, it may always be one with the Will of God. 

Good Saint John, I honor thee as the model of penitents, for thou didst receive the grace to give up a sinful life and to atone for thy sins by untiring labors in behalf of the poor and sick. Obtain for me the grace from God to be truly sorry for my sins, to make atonement for them and never again offend God. Aid me in mastering my evil inclinations and temptations, and in avoiding all occasions of sin. Through thine intercession may I obtain the grace from Jesus and Mary to fulfill faithfully all the duties of my state of life and to practice those virtues which are needful for my salvation. Help me to belong to God and Our Lady in life and in death through perfect love. May my life, like thine, be spent in the untiring service of God and my neighbor. 

Since Holy Mother Church also invokes thee in her prayers for the dying, I beg thee to be with me in my last hour and pray for me. As thou didst die kneeling before a crucifix, may I find strength, consolation and salvation in the Cross of my Redeemer, and through His tender mercy and the prayers of Our Lady, and through thine intercession, attain to eternal life. Amen.

Peace be with you, friends.

Update November 11, 2020:

Thank you to everyone who has read this blog. I hope you find inspiration and that this prayer has brought you and your loved ones closer to God. If you feel so inclined, I would appreciate a donation so I can keep this blog going. Thank you!

Click here to download a graphical version which you can share with others:

January 13: Feast Day of St. Hilary of Poitiers

St. Hilary of Poitiers is a male saint who was born in 300AD and died at the age of 68 in 368. A Doctor of the Catholic Church, Hilary is known as Hammer of the Arians and the Athanasius of the West. Some sources say he live from 310 to 367 instead, meaning he was under 60 at the time of his death.

Although Hilary was a strong opponent of Arianism, he could see that some of the schism related more to wording than to doctrinal disputes. Hilary composed a treatise where he successfully expressed Greek theological terms in Latin. He was able to do this while conveying the subtlety of the positions.

Hilary maintained the existence of many antichrists, rather than a single one, which is a common belief nowadays. This was the opinion of the Church Fathers in general - that anyone who opposes Christ is an antichrist.

Prior to his conversion, Hilary had a daughter named Saint Abra, who became a nun as per her father's request. Sadly she died as a teenager.

Hilary became known as a pre-eminent writer in the Christian Church, as he preceded Ambrose and Augustine, the latter going so far as to call him "the illustrious doctor of the churches"

St. Hilary is the patron saint of lawyers.

AMAZING: Good Friday on March 25th, 2016. Same Day as the Annunciation!

A truly amazing thing will be happening this year. Good Friday 2016 is on March 25, the same day as the Feast of the Annunciation, the day Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb.

This is amazing because traditionally many Christians have believed that Jesus was conceived on and died on the same day. The feast of the Annunciation, in which Mary receives the word from an angel that she will bear the Son of God, occurred on March 25 and is celebrated on that date every year.
Good Friday on the other hand, which marks the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, changes each year.

This amazing occurrence will not happen again for another 141 years! Since the year 1700 AD, Good Friday has been on the same day as the Annunciation just 11 times. See the list below for a complete record of all dates where this happened since 1700. From 1700 to 2200 (500 years), this will happen 14 times, or about once every 35.71 years.

What did the Church Fathers have to say about this:

St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the original 4 Doctors of the Church, in his book On The Trinity (Sermon 202) writes:

He is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also He suffered; so the womb of the Virgin, in which He was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which He was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before nor since.

Tertullian and St. Hippolytus of Rome both mention that Jesus died on March 25 as well.

I was thinking about it myself and thought of it this way: Jesus as God lowered himself and came down from heaven to become incarnate as a man. This happened on the Annunciation. At his crucifixion, Jesus died so that man could enter heaven, sort of the reverse of his own incarnation. It is fitting that these would occur on the same day, some 33 years apart. The entire salvation story had come full circle.

Below, I link to an article written by Jimmy Akin, a Catholic apologist. He argues that Jesus could not have died on March 25th, based on research. Despite this, I think it's important to note the significance of this event, even if Jesus did not die on that date, because nonetheless his death is being observed on that date, and that's what makes it significant.

The bottom line is I think this is a truly special event which should be observed by all Christians as it reminds of that Christ's Annunciation and Salvific Suffering and Death are inextricably linked.

In this painting by Francesc Comes, in the second panel the Annunciation is depicted and in the third is the crucifixion.

Years in which Good Friday and the Annunciation Both Occur on March 25:

1. 1701
2. 1712
3. 1785
4. 1796
5. 1842
6. 1853
7. 1864
8. 1910
9. 1921
10. 1932
11. 2005
12. 2016
13. 2157
14. 2168
15. 2214
16. 2225
17. 2236

Additional Resources:

I found an article written by inestimable Jimmy Akin on this subject as well. Jimmy Akin is of the opinion that Jesus most certainly did not really die on March 25, and does not think the scholarship on the subject points to that either: http://jimmyakin.com/2014/11/is-the-integral-age-theory-an-apologetics-myth-9-things-to-know-and-share.html

Dates for Easter 2016 (Also Good Friday, Holy Thursday, and more)

Easter Dates 2016:

Easter Sunday: Sunday, March 27th, 2016

Other Important Dates:

Ash Wednesday: Wednesday, February 10, 2016 (1st day of Lent)

Holy Thursday: Thursday, March, 2016

** Good Friday: Friday, March 25, 2016 **

Holy Saturday: Saturday, March 26th, 2016

Easter Sunday: Sunday, March 27th, 2016

St Nicholas

hi everybody I just wanted to quickly say happy Saint Nicholas Day today to all my Catholic readers. I'm hoping to put out more blogs soon so stay tuned. Have a great day.

Feast Day of Our Lady of the Rosary - October 7, 2015

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 is the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Rosary. This day commemorates the victory of Christian forces over Muslim invaders in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

What happened was Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the rosary for a victory. There was even a rosary procession in Rome. After everyone said the rosary, the Christians miraculously overcame the invading Muslim forces. Remember, Muslims at the time were centered around war and conquest. They were very powerful and formidable. Most of their time and energy was spent developing new ways of subjugating various lands.

To give you an idea of the immensity of the Christian victory, the Christians killed 20,000 Muslims vs. 7500 Christians that were killed. Also, the Christians were able to release 12,000 captive Christians. This battle was extremely important and decisive. Had Christian forces failed, it is possible all of Europe would be completely conquered by Muslims, and non-Muslims would quickly become second-class citizens.

So today, say a rosary to commemorate this important event!

Carly Fiorina was RIGHT about demonic activities of Planned Parenthood

This is an eye-opening article about how Carly Fiorina, a Republican candidate for president, was right about Planned Parenthood and their employees trying to keep a fetus alive to harvest its organs:

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2015/09/fiorina-was-right

Patron Saint of Expectant Mothers & Women Wanting Children: St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds

Today, October 6, 2015, we commemorate the Feast Day of St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds who is the patron saint of expectant mothers or women seeking to have children.

I am not sure why she is the patron saint of expectant mothers or those seeking to have children. After reading some of her biographies, it seems her father was an angry and violent person who worked Mary Frances very severely, to the point where it threatened her life. Her mother is said to have been a saint to deal with her father.

We know that this saint had a great love for the poor. I'm sure some of those poor women she tended to were pregnant. Perhaps this is why she is the patron saint.

During her lifetime, St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds received the stigmata, which is the pain and often visible sufferings of Jesus Christ. This was in order that she become ever closer to the Saviour. St. Mary Frances passed away on Oct. 7, 2015, at the age of 71. She was the first woman from Naples to be declared a saint by the Church.

If you are expectant or if you would like help having children, please say a prayer to St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds. There is a Shrine devoted to this saint in the historic center of Naples, Italy. It is still customary for women to have their bellies blessed by her relic.

Shrine of St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds

If you have a story you would like to share, please do so in the comment section below. Look forward to hearing from you.

Patron Saint of Difficult Marriages

Do you have a difficult marriage or family life? Perhaps you should consider saying a prayer to St. Rita of Cascia who died in 1457 at the age of 75 or 76. At first, she did not want to marry, but her parents arranged it anyway. Her husband was very abusive to her. However, she remained patient and trusted in the Lord. Eventually after much prayer, her husband changed his ways and was no longer abusive toward her. He begged for her forgiveness, which she gave. However, sadly her husband was killed by political rivals. She had now become a widow. Another great tragedy struck when Rita’s two sons, who after declaring they would seek revenge for their father’s death, fell ill from dysentery and ultimately both died.

Rita was now a childless widow at the age of 36. To make matters worse, she was an only child and had no siblings to rely on.

Rita decided to join a convent and spend her life in prayer.

St. Rita is the Patron Saint of Abused Wives and Grieving Mothers (in many countries at least).

If you are stuck in a difficult marriage, ask St. Rita for her prayers. She will listen. Also, if you would like to share your story below, please feel free to do so.

Confession for Beginners - what's it REALLY like?

A lot of people have apprehension about confession. Even faithful Catholics sometimes rarely go. I just want to outline some of my own experience of confession to tell people what it's really like. You might read in Wikipedia about confession. There you'll find a lot of the canon laws surrounding it, doctrines about it, etc. But like anything in the Church, there is the official explanation, then there's the reality of it.

I can tell you one thing: It's not as scary as you think. It's also not a lot of other things you think.

Confession was started when Jesus told his disciples to hear the sins of the other. He specifically told this to apostles, that's why we reserve this to priests, and I think that's a good idea overall. So we know Jesus told us to tell our sins to one another. But the question is why and what are the benefits. But before that, let me explain what confession is really like.

"But I don't know what to say"
There is sometimes a fear of not knowing the right words to say. In it's most basic form, you just enter the confession box and simply say "Father I have sinned." Say it in your own words. Even "I'm here to confess" is fine. Nothing to worry about. There is no formal structure. It's not like a secret knock you have to do for the priest to forgive you. It's simply approaching the confessional and telling the priest there are things you need to confess, to get off your chest.

Technically you should probably start by saying "Bless me Father for I have sinned. It's been [time] since my last confession." But like I said, it's by no means required. Be natural. But before saying anything, once the priests knows you are in the room, he will usually begin by blessing you in the familiar Trinitarian formula (In the Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit).

What do I say after the intro?
After the initial opening part, you just lay it all out. Tell the priest any serious sins you can remember having committed since your last confession. Don't beat yourself up over not remembering every single detail. Just do what you can. But don't hold back. Don't withhold any particular sin because you think it's too bad. It can be scary, but it's like jumping into cold water. After you do it, it's done and you feel much better. It's a bit of a cliché to say the priest has heard it all before. And it's possible he has not heard your particular sin before. But that's irrelevant. The priest is not there to judge, he will not gasp and ask if you are being serious. He will address the sin at hand in a kind and gentle way. It's not necessary to go into details or explanations. It's important not to blame other people for your sins or to downplay them. Don't justify them. Also, don't confess the sins of other people or say they "caused" you to sin. Simply state your sins.

What will the priest say?
After you confess your sins, the priest will give you spiritual advice. It will be customized according to your sins. He will be loving and caring. There will be no anger or scolding. He will not tell you he is disappointed in you or that you are a bad person. This is a time of reconciliation, which is also another word for the sacrament. He will usually tell you that you seem contrite and that it is a wonderful gift that you are seeking God's grace and forgiveness. I guarantee you will appreciate what the priest has to say.

Act of Contrition
After some spiritual guidance, the priest will ask you to say a prayer called the Act of Contrition. Although it can sound intimidating, it's not. It's simply a prayer where you say you are sorry for offending God with your sin and that you will do everything you can to avoid the sin in the future. Sometimes people worry that they haven't fully memorized an act of contrition or they don't remember it from their childhood. Again, don't worry. Just tell the priest. You can ask him if it would be okay to say it in your own words and they almost always agree. Sometimes they will tell you not to worry about it and you are then not required to say it. And sometimes they just tell you to say it later on your own time. Priests will sometimes do this to speed up the process if there are many other penitents waiting or they must say Mass soon or some other reason.

When are my sins erased?
After giving some advice and spiritual guidance, the priest will, with the power entrusted upon him by the Church through Jesus Christ, bestow forgiveness upon you. Besides some very rare sins like assaulting the pope, the priest will always give immediate absolution. You don't have to beg for it or prove that you are worthy. It's an unwarranted gift. It's important to remember that it's not the priest that's forgiving you, it's Jesus Christ, who imparts this gift to the Church and her ministers - the priests and bishops.

So if you make a valid confession, confessing everything you can remember that was a serious sin, you will immediately receive forgiveness.

How do I make up for it?
After confessing your sins, there is a great weight lifted from your soul. You feel much better, much lighter, you are now filled with hope and grace. It's an amazing feeling. The priest will now give you some small penance to perform. Almost always the penance will be small and easy to do. The point is not to outweigh the sins with the penance. You sins are already forgiven. This is just a small step in the right direction.

Common penances include:

• Say an Our Father and a Hail Mary
• Say 3 Our Fathers and 3 Hail Marys
• Spend 2 or 3 minutes in prayer thanking God for his forgiveness
• Say a prayer to St. Joseph and your Guardian Angel

The point of the penance is to give you something you can do quickly and easily right after confession. It's also important to note the penance is not related to the seriousness of the sins. I suspect many priests give the same penance to everyone.

Why not just tell God?
Some people ask, why can't I just approach God and ask forgiveness directly? Why do I have to tell everything to a priest who I might not even know that well? First of all, even in Catholicism, with perfect contrition, you can go directly to God and your sins are forgiven. You are still told to go to a normal confession when possible, but the point is God forgives sin in every circumstance. But the real answer to this question is that this is how Jesus designed it. We are social creatures, when we sin we sin against ourselves, those we hurt, and the community. There is a different quality to the entire situation when there is a human being acting on behalf of Christ through the Church who utters the words "Go, your sins are forgiven."

This human element is the reason people pay thousands of dollars to visit psychologists. If you have a psychological issue, you could ask: why can't I just deal with it myself at home? Why do I have to go to a professional for help? Well, in theory it's possible. But we recognize the value of getting things off our chest to another person. Plus, the confession box itself is located in a holy and quiet place, a place of reflection and prayer. And to get there, we have to make an effort, to go out of our way, to prepare ourselves. This contrasts with saying a quick private prayer to ourselves. Our mind marks the event as more significant.

Why not Today?
When it comes to confession, there is no better time than the present. You will never be "completely" ready I don't think. And we can always put it off until some other time. But trust me, you won't regret it. It's like hitting the reset button spiritually. You will feel more at peace and tranquil.

Aftermath
For me personally, often after confession I can sometimes become a little obsessive. Usually this disappears after a day or two. I become extremely careful not to commit a sin and it can border on scrupulosity, which is an obsession that our actions may be sinful. It's kind of a spiritual OCD. But like I said, after a day or two it subsides. I guess you could compare it to buying a brand new cell phone. At first people are extremely cautious, they barely want to even touch it, it's just too delicate. But after some time, you are throwing it around all over the place, dropping it, etc. I'm not saying you shouldn't be concerned about sin, I'm just saying we should not become scrupulous.

What if I fall again
Even if you fall to sin very soon after confession, don't fret. Simply go back and confess again. If you feel too embarrassed you can always visit another priest in a different church. It's no big deal. Christ is always ready to forgive you and will be waiting there with open arms.

What if I forgot something?
Even if you honestly forgot to confess a particular sin, you are still fully forgiven. It only becomes a problem when you willfully withhold a sin. If the sin you forgot is of the mortal (i.e. serious) variety, simply go back again soon to confess it. If however, it's something minor you probably don't need to worry about it. Something like this is currently happening to me. I confessed several times over the past couple of months. However, after yesterday's confession, I wonder if I forgot to confess something in particular. It's pretty minor and I'm pretty sure I already confessed it, at least in general. So I will have to think about it. But I have been known to become obsessive about certain things anyway.

Bottom line
The main thing is, the whole process is not as scary as it seems. Once it's done you'll feel much better. And you don't have to learn or memorize anything beforehand. God is there, waiting with open arms for his child to come back to him like in the parable of the Prodigal Son. The Son didn't memorize a long speech or do anything formal. He simply came back to his father who, upon seeing his son, ran - not walked - to embrace him. That's how God embraces us when we seek reunion with him.

Oregon College Shooting: A Catholic Response

Today there was a serious tragedy which occurred at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, USA. There were at least 10 people killed and 20 additional people injured. This is according to Oregon State Police spokesman Bill Fugate. In this overwhelming tragedy, what is the Catholic response.

Many instinctively believe the best response is to enact a gun ban. However, we can see that criminals like this lunatic who killed these people do not follow these rules. The school where the massacre occurred is strictly anti-gun. This didn't stop the carnage.

What are we to do in such circumstances as Catholics? Many suggest we "turn the other cheek". But this will prove futile in such a hostile situation. You will simply end up dead. We have a moral obligation to protect not only ourselves, but others as well. To find out how to deal with such a situation, we turn to the Angelic Doctor from whom we derive so much Catholic thought: St. Thomas Aquinas.

In his Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas addresses the question of self-defense. He brings up objections from sources such as Augustine and others which seem to say that defending your life by killing another is sinful because we should instead let the other person kill us. But then the Doctor replies.

He first quotes the Bible:

On the contrary, It is written (Exodus 22:2): "If a thief be found breaking into a house or undermining it, and be wounded so as to die; he that slew him shall not be guilty of blood." Now it is much more lawful to defend one's life than one's house. Therefore neither is a man guilty of murder if he kill another in defense of his own life.

Aquinas continues to lay the groundwork for self defense by thoroughly dismantling the anti-self-defensers. He explains his reasoning by explaining the law of double-effect. Basically this law says that what is important is the intention of what a person is seeking to accomplish. This is to be distinguished from the side-effects. Under certain rules, an act is permissible, even if the unintended side effect would normally be immoral. It's much more complicated than I just stated, but that's the essence of it.

Accordingly the act of self-defense may have two effects, one is the saving of one's life, the other is the slaying of the aggressor. Therefore this act, since one's intention is to save one's own life, is not unlawful, seeing that it is natural to everything to keep itself in "being," as far as possible. And yet, though proceeding from a good intention, an act may be rendered unlawful, if it be out of proportion to the end.

Bottom line here is that we have a duty to protect our own bodies, especially against an aggressor, however we must not go overboard. If killing the aggressor is unnecessary then we shouldn't do it.

The same principle applies to protecting our loved ones.

I think when it comes to guns (something not yet invented in the time of Aquinas), he would say it would be permissible to carry a gun for the purpose of self defense or the protection of innocents. In more modern day terms: the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

Let us pray for the souls of those killed in this tragedy, and for the recovery of those not killed, and for everyone involved in general.

10 Most Shocking Facts about Pope Francis!

Pope Francis just left after a 6-day tour of the United States. He is very popular now with many people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. But there are some things about Pope Francis that are downright shocking. Here is a list of the top 10 most shocking things about Pope Francis:

10. Pope Francis lives in much smaller apartment in the Vatican
Upon being elected as pope, Francis decided to live in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse, which is reserved for visiting priests or cardinals participating in an conclave to elect a new pope. The room is much smaller and not as grandiose.

9. The Pope Drives an Ancient 1984 Renault 4L!
The pope drives this 31 years old vehicle which has already clocked in over 186,000 miles. It gose along with his deisre to live simply.

8. He's the First Jesuit Pope
Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pope ever. The Society of Jesus (the official name) was formed 1540. For a while it was suppressed, but later became one of the largest congregations of priests in the Catholic world. It marks a complete turn-around that Pope Francis comes from this order of priests.

7. The Holy Father Doesn't Speak Very Good English
The most difficult language the pope has tried to conquer has been English. In an interview, he once said: “The hardest [language] for me has always been English. Above all, the pronunciation, because I don’t have an ear for it.” He did a pretty good job when he was in the US recently.

6. Francis Often Visits Prisoners
In his recent visit to the States, the Holy Father met with inmates in Philadelphia's Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. Earlier this year, on Holy Thursday, the pope washed the feet of several prisoners in Italy.

5. Instead of the Traditional Fisherman's Ring, Francis Wears a Simple Silver Ring
Unlike Pope Benedict who wore his Fisherman's Ring daily, Pope Francis chooses instead to wear a silver ring he had as archbishop of Buenos Aires.

 4. Francis Enjoys Dancing Tango
Pope Francis is known to enjoy dancing the tango. The dance is popular in his home country of Argentina.

3. He's the First Non-European Pope in almost 1300 years!
The current pontiff is the first one born in the Western Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere. He is also the first non-European pope in almost 1300 years, the last being Pope Gregory III from Syria, who ended his reign in 741 AD.

2. He was a Bouncer at a Night Club
The pope was at one point a nightclub bouncer in Buenos Aires

1. He had Part of his Right Lung Removed. 
After a severe lung infection where doctors discovered 3 cysts, part of Pope Francis's the upper part of his right lung was removed. He is said to have experienced great pain during this ordeal. Many news sources originally erroneously reported that Pope Francis only has one lung which isn't really true.