Church and State: Covid

Catholic churches are reopening in Canada and around the world. I've noticed a few things that speak to a lack of separation of CHurch and state, and show the CHurch acquiescing to every request of the state without question and going overboard. Let me explain.

Churches were allowed to reopen about 6 weeks ago in Newfoundland, Canada. Unlike many other public places such as businesses, churches were some of the last places that were allowed to open. When they did finally open, they were limited to 50 total people in the church building. This is far less than the number allowed at other similarly-sized establishments. For example, the Basilica, which is one of the biggest churches in Canada, could only have 50 people.

Not only could they only have 50 people, they adhered to restrictions other places did not even consider. The church I attend has been following "protocols" far more strictly than anywhere else. You have to answer a survey each time you enter the building, then you have to wear your mask while you walk anywhere. When you sit, masks are optional because everyone is more than 6 feet apart with area cordoned off.

But one particularly strange part I found was the extreme lengths churches will go to announce every little detail of how to act while receiving communion, as if everyone is in constant danger. Again, nothing like this happens outside the church, such as in shopping areas and grocery stores. There is an announcement at the beginning of Mass, and then one right before communion. And it's not a small, short announcement either. It's a long, detailed message going into every possible detail about maintaining distance, sanitizing hands, how to receive communion, etc.

Remember, in NL, we only have one active case, and that is very recent, and it is someone under the age of 19 who is a known person. And yet, as mentioned, the church adheres to these regulations with more fervor than anywhere else.

But what upsets me the most is that never in any other area does the local church broadcast specific regulations and procedures for anything else. There is never any mention of only Catholics in the state of Grace being allowed to receive communion. They are seemingly quite lax in that area. Yet, when the state asks them to make an announcement on Covid, they don't know how far to go. They go way above and beyond, even beyond the wildest dreams of the most cautious politician.

Why is this? Why do they only seem to place value on temporal things such as government announcements and seem to downplay the importance of eternal things? It seems to me there is far more risk in the latter.

I'm not saying don't make any messages concerning Covid, but I am saying make other announcements. Perhaps announcing that the church is a sacred place and that people should not whisper throughout the Mass. Perhaps mention that only Catholics in the state of Grace should receive communion. Maybe talk about confession from time to time.

We shouldn't just always kowtow to what the government says. Whatever happened to separation of Church and state? We are only reinforcing the idea that the state and all the earthly orders of politicians are more important than Jesus Christ and our eternal salvation.

Modern-Day Obliviousness to Morality

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.- Isaiah 5:20

It seems to me that as the world embraces more and more immorality, it ironically starts to think it is becoming more and more morally virtuous.

This became all the more clear lately as social justice warriors go around looking for statues of men who lived centuries ago to tear down because of their alleged imperfections. As though now that this latest generation has conquered all sin and is a paragon of moral virtue, it can now set its sights on bygone generations.

If this does not epitomize pompous self-righteousness, nothing does. While people of this generation hardly know or recognize the seven deadly sins or 10 commandments, they not only feel qualified to tell their own generations what they are doing or did wrong, but feel justified in searching for iniquities from the last 500 years.

I wouldn't even mind this so much if this newest generation wasn't one of the most immoral and hypocritical of our entire human history. They have taken the words above from Isaiah not as a warning but as instruction. Practically every sin imaginable is not only accepted, but celebrated and when this generation does target a particular sin, they almost always get it wrong by misidentifying where the sin is and why it is sinful.

The ten commandments are set up in order of importance. The first commandment, to Love God alone and to worship Him only is more important than the commandment to honor one's mother and father, which is more important than the commandment to not murder. Almost all of the 10 commandments are routinely violated by the latest generation. They have turned every commandment on its head and become quite passionate in arguing for the opposite. The same goes for the 7 deadly sins. Truly a reversal has taken place with them.

I remember at work one time a coworker joking about the idea that we would even need the 10 commandments. He laughed that they were obvious and so why would we need commandments to tell us what to do. There was a slight amount of truth in what he was saying. As Catholics, we hold that the 10 commandments form part of the natural law which is naturally knowable by all people. And yet, if these 10 commandments were so obvious, why is it that our society embraces the breaking of each one of them?

Take for instance the fourth and sixth commandments: honor your mother and father and do not murder. In Canada, with the introduction of euthanasia, it became legal to kill your mother or father. Most people are okay with this. It, of course, started out slow, saying that only elderly people with a terminal illness could choose to take their own life. Yet now, the criteria for who is "permitted" to kill themselves is ever-expanding. They are taking away the age requirement, as well as the terminal illness requirement. Now they are saying people with depression can kill themselves. What differentiates this all from suicide?

People are on board. They no longer honor their mother and father, and when they become too much of a burden, they encourage their parents to just end it. Parents, themselves not wanting to be burdens, are pressured into this.

Of course, some morally good doctors oppose killing patients as it violates their oaths. So does the government allow these good doctors to follow their consciences? Of course not. They are forced to send the patient to another doctor who will in fact kill the person.

The majority of Canadians, being highly immoral, have accepted state-sanctioned murder. They use Orwell-type words to sanitize what is truly happening, and phrase it as a personal choice and dignified. How can killing a vulnerable person be dignified for anyone? They publish articles by those who choose to be killed and without fail advocate this amazing system. We of course never hear any counter arguments.

I once read an article in the local newspaper where a doctor lamented the fact that in Newfoundland and Labrador, not enough people are killing themselves. He "blamed" strong families and other things on this negative situation. So he was trying to get the message out that offing oneself is a great choice and that you should avail!

It won't be long before this option to kill oneself becomes an obligation. People will be told they are selfish for opting to live longer. Bill Gates himself rhetorically asked in a public speech whether it's better to "let" an elderly person live longer or if it's better to hire 10 teachers. This rhetorical question will be asked of the elderly as well before long. They will be made to feel guilty for not doing the responsible thing of killing themselves once they reach a certain age or have a certain health prognoses.

This is just one example of a grave violation of the commandments. It would be easy to find dozens of examples of violations of each of the other commandments as well. But unlike any other time, we do not as a society condemn these violations, but rather celebrate them, and wonder how they can be expanded to include more people. We are surrounded everywhere we go with evil. Anyone who is good will be severely punished. This is just a friendly reminder of that.

If you decide to be a good person, just remember that you will be persecuted and prosecuted. You will face many difficulties. But I think if you are aware of this, it might make it a little easier to accept. Jesus Himself told us this:

The eighth beatitude says: "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Remember those words as you do what is right.

Prayer for an End to the Coronavirus / Covid19 Pandemic

St. Roch, Patron Saint against pandemics.

Here is a prayer to a patron saint against diseases and illnesses, in particular against epidemics such as the one we are currently experiencing (more information about the saint is found at the end):

O Blessed Saint Roch,
Patron of the sick,
Have pity on those
Who lie upon a bed of suffering.

Your power was so great
When you were in this world,
That by the sign of the Cross,
Many were healed of their diseases.

Now that you are in heaven,
Your power is not less.
Offer, then, to God
Our sighs and tears
And obtain for us that health we seek
Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

St. Roch was born with a birthmark of a cross on his chest. He became a powerful intercessor while on earth. He contracted the bubonic plague, as can be seen in his statue above. However, he survived with the help of a dog who would bring him food.

St. Roch's holiness started at a young age, when he would fast, along with his mother, twice a week, even while he was nursing.

He followed in the footsteps of St. Francis by giving away all of his earthly possessions to help the poor, which were left to him by his parents who died when he was only 20 years old.

Pres. Trump Watches Mass Via Live-Stream at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Thanks Cardinal Dolan |

Pres. Trump Watches Mass Via Live-Stream at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Thanks Cardinal Dolan |: Let us pray for our president! ��

Governor Cuomo's Blasphemous Comments Addressed

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York said some blasphemous comments which are addressed quite well by Bishop Robert Barron in his article. In it, he explains that God isn't just one of many causes, but he is the ultimate cause of all things and is "to be" itself. It's a great read. Check it out here.

What I do besides this blog. One thing is my Omega-3 business.

I know this isn't the usual topic, and feel free to skip this one if you are just interested in Catholic information. But I just wanted to do a quick shout-out to my online website called Plantology.ca On this website, I primarily sell a product called Terra Nova Omega-3 Seal Oil capsules. Seal oil contains a very high level of omega-3 and is very good for your health.

Did you know: Catholics in Newfoundland were given permission to consume seal during Fridays of Lent as it was considered an aquatic animal and thus classified as a fish?

I just wanted to mention this business here on this website to let people know some of the things I do outside of this blog. I'm trying to really get my business off the ground, so I just wanted to take a minute to let my readers know about this site.

I am from Newfoundland, Canada and Atlantic harp seals are a very abundant species. In fact, in 6 million seals, there are about 10 seals for every person in our province! Seals are one of the best sources of omega-3 supplements. The reason is that they have already converted various other forms of omega-3 into a type that is readily available for use in the human diet. As a comparison, plant sources of omega-3 can only be used at a rate of about 10-15% by the human body as it comes in the form of ALA.

On the other hand, seal oil contains high levels of DHA, EPA, and DPA which are specific types of omega-3s and are vital in human health. We cannot create our own omega-3 compounds and so they must come from our diets. Unfortunately, most people's diets have a lot more omega-6 than omega-3. As a comparison, most diets have at least a 15:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. Many have more, even as high as 50:1. It is recommended that at most our ratio be 4:1, and some even say 1:1 would be optimal.

Seal oil contains a reversed amount compared to the average diet, coming in at 1:7.5. That means for every 1 unit of omega-6, there are 7.5 units of omega-3.

Unfortunately, seal oil is not allowed to be sold in the United States. I think there is simply a general ban on all seal products. This is unfortunate because seals are harvested in a very humane and sustainable way. They are not farmed and live their entire lives in their natural environment and only adult seals are ever killed. Plus the number taken is such that their overall population will not decrease.

So if you are from Canada or from Asia, please check out my website at www.Plantology.ca. Place an order if you are interested. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

I appreciate you giving me this opportunity to talk a little about my business. I hope it was not too disruptive. I won't be posting a lot about Plantology.ca at all. I may not post anything about it again. Please let me know if you are upset or unhappy with my decision to post this. Having said that, stay tuned for great Catholic content and thank you for being a loyal reader!