Marriage Is Hell

That's what Hollywood will have you think.

Why do so many films portray marriages as two seperate savages sharing the same house?

Wives are portrayed as brittle, hysterical and bored. While the men are seething volcanoes of disconent. This portrayal of marriage has been going on for years in film and I am getting tired of it.

From 'American Beauty' and 'Little Children' to the new film 'Revolutionary Road,' these films make the great jump that marriages don't work and that most married people are miserable and walk around with painted on smiles.

The real message that is missing in these films is the search for authentic happiness and it is not to be found through someone else. In other words if you are discontented, unhappy and unfulfilled don't think another person can fix the void within yourself. In other words YOU are in charge of how happy you wish to be and that is the truth of it.

One other thing that is missing from these hollywood productions is the spiritual element to marriage. In these films there is none and perhaps that is why these marriages are doomed. The actors portray empty, one dimensional characters whose main focus is to highlight what is wrong in their marriage rather than what is going right, with the emphasis being on self fulfillment to the detriment of everyone else.

Does Hollywood have it right? Are most married people miserable malcontents who feel deprived rather than privileged?

My own belief is that this is merely another way for Hollywood to marginalise the Institution of Marriage itself and I wonder what impact these films make on teenagers?

Isn't it time for those who DO enjoy a wonderful married life to speak up or as the case maybe to blog up and tell the world that though most marriages take a lot of work, it is worth it in the end and the blessings far outweigh the minuses.

Lisa has written an excellent piece on the joys of a large family. Please do read it. Click here.

What do YOU think?

Written by Marie

Islamofascists-In Battle or Dialogue

As Christians, no matter what denomination you espouse we are in a critical battle ground where the rule book has been thrown out by our adversaries which is Islamofascism. These fascists do not follow rules of engagement their only rule is to kill all those who live a different ideology from their worldview. Whether it be by bombing them, beheading them or blowing their enemies up by strapping bombs to themselves, nothing is too loathsome for these tyrannical extremists.

There is nothing more chilling than impersonal hate.

Now Senator Obama has blithely stated that he is ready to sit down with President Ahmadinejad with no pre-conditions so that he can 'dialogue with the enemy' and hopefully turn them into 'friends.'

Does America want to be 'friends' with these tyrants? Obama thinks so!

England before the Second World War tried this 'dialogue' with the likes of Adolf Hitler by acquiescing when it came to Czechoslovakia. As we look back at history did this attempt at 'dialogue' work? Did Hitler suddenly gain a conscience and did the spirit of appeasement work? No it did not.

Will Senator Obama if elected President, re-live history?

It is becoming obvious that those who embrace Islamofascism are in opposition to those who have embraced Christianity. The two are irreconcilable as Islamofascists tries to eliminate the other by any means necessary, whether it be hijacking planes or cruise ships or by strapping bombs to their bodies as they blow up innocent civilians in order to subjugate the world through sheer intimidation.

Many are still refusing to believe that we are in a war. A war that is so all encompassing that it strikes at the heart of our very beliefs and our way of life and yet some are still failing to see that Christianity is in the fight for its very life and it's core beliefs.

Is America & its Allies in a war? You better believe it.

1972: Eight Palestinian "Black September" terrorists seize nine Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village in Munich. In a bungled rescue attempt by West German authorities, all the hostages and five terrorists are killed.

1979 - 81: After U.S. President Jimmy Carter agrees to admit the Shah of Iran into the U.S., Iranian radicals seize the U.S. Embassy in Tehran Nov.4 1979, and take 66 American diplomats and embassy employees hostage. Thirteen hostages are soon released, but the remaining 53 are held until their release on Jan. 20, 1981.

1983 U.S and French soldiers bombed in Beirut.

1985 - 1991: Shia militiamen in Beirut take Terry Anderson, an Associated Press reporter, hostage in 1985. They demand the release of Shia extremists convicted of bombing the U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait. They also hold hostage Brian Keenan, John McCarthy and Terry Waite.

1985 Hijacked the Achille Lauro

1985 Jun 14, The 17-day hijack ordeal of TWA Flight 847 began as a pair of Lebanese Shiite Muslim extremists seized the plane with 104 Americans shortly after takeoff from Athens, Greece. The hijackers killed Petty Officer Robert Dean Stethem and dumped his body on the tarmac in Beirut.

1988 Pan Am 103 crashed over Lockerbie.

1993: World Trade Center bomb terrorizes New York

1993: US forces killed in Somali gun battle At least five US soldiers have been killed and two Blackhawk helicopters shot down in a heavy firefight in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu.

2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

2001 11th September attack on World Trade Centre

2002 Bali Bombings

2005 London bombings

The Islamofascists have deliberately kept their people poor and uneducated, in order for their youth to feel a hopelessness about their own future prospects. In this way they can appeal to young men to die for Allah and in this way they will attain their 70 virgins but only IF they are martyred. Ever wonder why Osama Bin Laden remains hidden like a rat in the mountains of Pakistan as he slinks from one safety hole to the next? Did Abu Musab al-Zarqawi offer himself up for martyrdom or was he accidentally trapped by the Americans? It seems the top leadership of these terrorists groups have NO wish to die for their cause.

The sweetest music to the ears of these tyrants is when a Democratic leader speaks of a longing to 'dialogue' with them.

Many Islamofascists cry crocodile tears for the poor Palestinians, yet why then do the more wealthy Muslim nations such as Saudi Arabia not set up schools, new roads, hospitals etc? Why? Because they are using the plight of the Palestinians as an excuse to unleash their pent up hatred on the nation of Israel and also on America. The former President Yasser Arafat was given hundreds of millions of dollars from the West, not one penny of this aid was spent on easing the plight of the poor. The majority of the money was squirreled away in Swiss bank accounts.

Christians love God they try and live their faith, but no where does it say that Christians must become door mats so the terrorists can vent their spleen. We have seen what happens when the Islamofascists don't agree with cartoons or books that they feel malign their prophet, yet they feel no such compunction when deriding the Jewish or Christian Faith. It is never right to blaspheme anyone's belief as the Vatican rightfully stated, but equality of respect for other faiths and beliefs is not a one way street. So far it seems the Islamofascists are allowed their own blaspheming but will murder and maim anyone who opposes or satirizes their beliefs.

In the end there is no reasoning with hate for hate has no logic. Let us hope we recognise the dogs of war before they devour us.

Do you trust Barack Obama to keep America safe?

Written by Marie

PRAYER FOR COURAGE IN THE TIME OF BATTLE

O Prince of peace, we humbly ask your protection

for all our men and women in military service.

Give them unflinching courage to defend

with honor, dignity and devotion,

the rights of all who are imperiled

by injustice and evil.

Be their rock, their shield, and their stronghold

and let them draw their strength from you.

For you are God, for ever and ever.

AMEN!

Author Unknown

The Dangers of Designer Faith

There have been many instances where I have heard people say that they do not wish to belong to a 'religious organization or Church' they then go on to say, that they are instead 'spiritual people.'

What exactly does that mean?

Is it a case of all truth is truth if it is your truth?

The people that believe themselves 'spiritual' yet do not follow God instead have made themselves 'a god'. This kind of thinking would be like being on a boat without a rudder, you will be blown in every direction except the right direction.

A designer faith is no faith at all.

This kind of designer faith allows a person to follow their 'feelings' and it is these fuzzy wuzzy feelings that have little to do with real spirituality.

We see this 'spirituality shopping' with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, who despite her great wealth and popularity, still remains unhappy and unfulfilled. We have seen Oprah embrace one New Age fad after another only to find there is no spiritual elixir that will fill the empty void within her and at the end of the day you are left alone. There is no 'secret' that can fulfill the emptiness we feel in our souls. That emptiness is there for a reason; it is there for us to reach out to God the Source of Love and of Life.

There is also the case of St. Mary's Church in Queensland which thinks it can design it's own Liturgy in total disregard of Catholic Church Doctrine. Here is their idea of The Sacrament of Baptism:

"We baptise you in the name of the creator, sustainer and liberator of life", adding "who is also father, son and spirit".

The priest then added: "That's good, nice and cool" and invited "everyone to put water on him".

No Fathers, it is not 'cool' it is 'Kool Aid.'

The Catholic Church is in no need of 'hip renegade 'priests' who think they know better than the Catholic Church and are in fact disobedient to the Magisterium.

What happens though when Priests and Religious decide that the Catholic Church and it's Teachings are no longer relevent to our present age?

We have anarchy in the Pulpit.

What happens when it's Parishioners follow these 'hip hop priests' who are in fact performing illegal masses.

We have a falling away of the Faithful.

The role of the Priesthood and Religious are to teach the Truths of the Church as revealed in Holy Doctrine and to be obedient to these very Teachings under the guidance of the Vicar of Christ in whom they are in communion. Priests are not to dissent from the Traditional Teachings of the Church which has been passed down through the generations. The role of the laity is to pray for our Priests, Religious and to learn, obey and defend the Truths of the Church as we give our allegiance to the Vicar of Christ. (Can. 273 Clerics have a special obligation to show reverence and obedience to the Supreme Pontiff and to their own Ordinary.)

To follow one's own idea of 'spirituality' is to follow into folly, for when did man become wiser than God? How can any one person think that they are all knowing and all wise, that they are in fact much smarter than God?

As for those 'priests' who choose to be disobedient to Rome, let me finish by quoting St. Augustine, 'Rome has spoken; the case is closed."

Written by Marie

Taking A Stand

When we look at history we see that The Holy Roman Empire did not implode because its leaders were morally correct and upright, it imploded as one leader outdid the other in decadent and immoral behaviour.

When there is no moral compass and God is ignored the consequences are a 'godless' society where anarchy, immorality, cruelty and decadence are deemed acceptable. While anything holy is outlawed, as lawlessness runs rampant, and the upright sleep.

Who can stop these outrages?

YOU!

But, rather than take a stand we look to our Governments. The same Governments which legalised abortion and in some countries euthanasia, where embryonic stem cell research is ongoing and same sex marriages are on the agenda. Why do we do this? Because it is easier to simply either go along with the crowds or stay silent rather than taking a stand.

We are drifting in an ocean of mediocrity.

Do we raise our voices when we see racial and religious bigotry? Or do we stay silent so as not to cause a scene? Many years ago I walked into a Lutheran shop and picked up a Jack Chit pamphlet which wrote that the Catholic Church was a cult. As I read I became more and more incensed and asked the owner of the religious shop how she could allow such hatred to stay on the shelf? I then told her that if she did not remove such hate filled dribble I would boycott her shop. The shop owner assumed I was Catholic and was shocked to find I was actually a Lutheran, but she removed the offensive 'literature.'

I also remember attending a forum where a Baptist Minister was giving a talk about Spritual Warfare. I had been told that this Minister was 'on fire with the Holy Spirit,' he was on fire alright but it had nothing to do with holiness. His entire speech was an attack on the Catholic Church, he stated that Jesus actually disowned his mother by citing this Biblical passage, ..(Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.") But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" (Matthew 12:47-48). I could stand it no longer and stood and challenged the Minister's opinion and asked him if God can break His own Commandments? For if Jesus were to disown his own mother He was in effect breaking the Fifth Commandment, 'Honour your father and mother.' I then asked the Minister to inform me where in the Bible does Mary promote herself, where does she ask that people worship her? This Minister also assumed that I was a Catholic, No! Back then I was a Lutheran, but I wasn't going to sit and listen to hate silently.

Why are we silent when our brothers and sisters are being defamed?

Throughout the world Christians of various denominations are being persecuted, in countries such as China, Indonesia, Iran, Algeria etc. And all these Christians can hope for is a bullet, because a bullet is preferable than having to face years of torture and imprisonment as the world forgets them.

These courageous Christians do not fear God's Truth. They fear silence.

We raise our voices in protest as the price of oil rises and stay silent when Martyrs die every day for the beliefs we hold dear.

When we take a safer path we dishonour all the Martyrs and Saints who went before us and were prepared to die for the Truths we hold Sacred. When we compromise our Christian Principles and the Truths of the Catholic Church, then how are you different from the athiest?

When you say on one hand I believe in God and yet fail to speak up for your beliefs what does that make you? As St. Thomas Aquinas said, "Hold firmly that our faith is identical with that of the ancients. Deny this, and you dissolve the unity of the Church."

When the virtuous fail to speak up the innocent die.

Freedom is too choose to love God and follow His Commandments through the Teachings of the Catholic Church.We also have the freedom not to obey God or the Church. But in both choices we bear the consquences of our free choices.

As Pope Benedict XVI said he is more concerned for those who "are easily tempted to conform themselves to the spirit of this age.' There is also the prevailing thought that religion is a 'personal matter' which should not be imposed upon others yet once again our Pope states it differently, "Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted..Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel."

Are we Christian Warriors or Wimps?

"Peace is not the product of terror or fear.

Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.

Peace is not the silent revolt of violent repression.

Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution

of all to the good of all.

Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.

It is right and it is duty."

These are the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero who was assassinated for speaking the Truth, he would be alive today if he had stayed silent.

Archbishop Oscar Romero understood as did our Saints God's Truth is worth dying for. It is compromise that kills the soul.

It is apathy that kills our faith not hatred.

In the end you find yourself and who you are, through adversity, so dont run from it, face it and find your mettle. Be an Overcomer without turning into a victim. Be strong without turning into a bully. Be courageous with the understanding that God has given you the inner strength to overcome life's battles and hardships. Be a failure, while knowing that you can do better. And understand your biggest enemy is within yourself and that is the greatest one you have to overcome.

If speaking up means you stand alone, then stand alone. How many Disciples stood beneath the Cross?

Written by Marie

WORDS...

We need to use our words wisely for in our words we have the power to bring both happiness and grief. We can either build someone up who has suffered or add to their burden by thoughtless words uttered by inexperience if not downright ignorance. It helps if we have gained a sound knowledge and grounding in Scripture for as the Word reveals to us, "Therefore encourage one another, and build up one another, just as you also are doing." We are all a work in progress, and at times we too are in need of an encouraging word but also one guided in wisdom, lest we speak more as a longing to be liked than speak the Truth as revealed to us through the Word and the Teachings of the Church.

We must always be aware that every person needs to feel loved, validated and needed. So in order to be truly wise, we must weigh our words for they will act upon the heart like a flower ready to bloom or they will crush the bud before it has a chance to reach full maturity. So before we speak remember to examine your own inner motives, and to pray to the Holy Spirit so we may speak in wisdom so as to edify the recipient rather than cause harm and hinder the spiritual path of another. As Thomas Kempis says, "In all your actions keep your end in sight, and how you will stand before your judge, your God, from whom nothing is hidden."

At times we may not know that our actions and words are harming another in that our overzealousness instead of helping may in fact harm the recipient, St. Philip Neri wisely says, "If you wish to go to extremes, let it be in sweetness, patience, humility and charity." When our friends come to us with their souls in anguish and the wounds within exposed, do we rub salt in them or do we with utmost compassion become a balm to the troubled and pained individual?

We may think what has words to do with spiritual warfare? This is so because it is from the mind that sin begins and is then carried out in both word and deed. For Satan knows our weakness, if we are quick to take offense he will send us offensive people. If we are over sensitive, he will send people to criticize our every word and action, but if some are lazy and apathetic, Satan leaves them to themselves, for they are already his. So if we think that Satan has no use for words then many will be sadly mistaken, for Satan is a sower of malice, and discord is its seed upon which hate becomes its fruit.

On the other hand God also understands our weakness and will put trials in our path not to break us but to strengthen that which is weakest in our nature. So if offensive people cross our paths it enables us the chance to practice patience. If one is over sensitive and meets a person with little sensitivity this again enables the person to practice charity.

For everything Satan tries to do, God will undo, through prayer.

This should teach us to measure each word as if our soul depended on it for it does, for when we wound another, we wound Christ. We need to take heed of our words and motives, but in order to do so we also need to know what is pleasing for God to hear, and that is words spoken in love, even when correcting another. In the words of another great Saint, "A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love." St. Basil is correct for what we give to others and how we treat them will affect our own relationship with our Heavenly Father.

We are all at times in need of a kind word, a gentle reminder that all is not lost and the knowledge that we are loved.

Written by Marie

The Mengele Syndrome-Abortion & Science

"This man is completely carried away; everything he says and writes has the mark of his egocentrism; this man is capable of trampling on corpses and eliminating anything that is an obstacle. I cannot understand how there are so many people in Germany who do not understand him, and cannot draw conclusions from what he says or writes. Has any of them even read his horrifying ‘Mein Kampf’?"

The above quotation is from Pope Pius XII who seemed to be the only man in Europe to understand Adolf Hitler's intentions from the beginning! This begs the question how was a whole nation deceived?

They were deceived because in the end people will believe what they want to believe and truth has very little to do with it. Adolf Hitler was not born with the title 'Der Fuhrer' neither was he born a monster, he became both of these in his short life. He was able to convince a Nation that genocide was the answer to all their perceived 'problems', how could he do this? Because the nation was ready to be seduced and they were.

The next step in Hitlers demonic plan was to convince the German people that murder was the ultimate solution to all their problems. But Hitler was cunning, he knew that the German peoples had to be de-sensitized towards murder, that it would become acceptable, but this had to be done little by little and drip by poison drip. Using stealth and seduction Hitler did precisely that.

Hitler began a programe of forced sterilization of those who were deemed 'mentally deficient.' After this success, he began the move towards enforced euthanasia of those deemed by the Nazi's as unfit to live, approximately 60,000 Germans died using this legal method of murder. These orders were made law and carried out from 1935 to 1939 before Hitler began the Mass extermination of the Jews.

Another ground breaking move made by Hitler was to legalize abortion as he stated with these 'enlightening' words, "In view of the large families of the native population, it could only suit us if girls and women there had as many abortions as possible. Active trade in contraceptives ought to be actually encouraged in the Eastern territories, as we could not possibly have the slightest interest in increasing the non-Germanic population." Should we be too surprised that almost 70 years later most Western countries also embrace that 'theory' and have put it into affect? That 'catholics' are also embracing this 'enlightened' way of thinking and like the Nazi's, genocide has also been sanitized into more acceptable terms such as Pro-Choice, and the baby is called a 'cell'. We are in this day and age living the Nazi ideal, some simply don't know it yet, they are too busy supporting this genocide of the innocents.

As the Germans threw out the Crucifix and embraced the Swastika should we not feel alarmed when within our own countries there are organizations which are attempting to ban the Crucifix from all Government buildings and institutions? Some have also taken the step to have the Ten Commandments removed. Who is frightened by the Commandments of God? Only those who are breaking them!

Just as in Nazi Germany it becomes dangerous when a country accepts evil as a good, and murders it's most vulnerable citizens, rather than live by their Faith which opposes murder.

In our own day we are living the 'Mengele Syndrome' where abortion is now legal in most Western countries. Where scientists perform experiments on human embryo's, as well as trying to create human life in a test tube. Is there not a move to use euthanasia as a viable alternative to end human suffering as well as dispose of those who are born with disabilities?

Have we not become what we hate?

When you listen to and vote for politicians who embrace the Pro-Choice platform you have become the enemy. You have been seduced into accepting murder as a right. When did God cede Power to man?

The most scary aspect is, that Adolf Hitler was not born evil, yet he became it. The entire German people were not born evil, yet they supported it. The worlds population at that time were not born evil yet they ignored it. When evil knocks at your door will you recognise it's dark message? Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI warns us with these wise words, "The more one understands the holiness of God, the more one understands the opposite of what is holy, namely, the deceptive masks of the devil"

How did Hitler murder over 6 million people, because he could. The question is did we learn from history or are we repeating it?

Written by Marie

Heresy At The Door-The New Age

There is a great longing within each soul to become more than what it is. A void exists within each of us as we yearn for some meaning to our existance.

The problem begins when many embrace a spiritual alchemy of different spiritualities which promise everything but deliver nothing. But, what lies beneath this longing for a spiritual elixir? Could it be that many long to be in control rather than cede power to a higher source, with that higher Source being God, The Triune Spirit? When we do this are we not saying to God, 'I am my own power, the source of my own wisdom? The Truth's of the Catholic Church no longer hold sway over these 'spirituality shoppers', as they seek to mix different kinds of mysticism such as Reiki, Enneagrams and other New Age beliefs, to suit themselves.

When we long for different doctrines we have fallen out of love with God and in love with the satanic illusion of making our lives better or more meaningful by embracing a lie over the Truth.

The word that is missing in all this spiritual alchemy is religion. Those who embrace this form of superficial spirituality deny that we need an 'organized religion' as if religion had become a dirty word or that it has dictatorial overtones. Yet, though Reiki is not seen as 'religious' it seeks to offer spiritual healing, exactly what spirit is being called forth to bring about this 'healing'? A feeling of fuzzy wuzzy warmth is no healing at all, but an illusion.

This constant need for anything 'new' or 'exciting' not only indicates spiritual immaturity it indicates a falling away of the faithful and denial of the Truths of the Church that they profess to believe during the Liturgy. How can one profess the Apostles Creed when they have placed their faith in New Age lies? For who is the father of lies?

It is also shows spiritual laziness, where many people prefer to treat our Catholic faith as if it were a recipe which needs new ingredients to liven it up! For instance with Reiki one becomes an instant master, but a master of what exactly, trickery? Where is God in trickery? And by proclaiming oneself a master are you not negating The Master, our Lord Jesus Christ?

The New Age is merely gnosticism dressed up in old rags, but in our dissolute age many have had their senses dimmed as they long for a quick fix to heal their jaded souls. At the heart of this is sheer laziness, a narcisstic love of self and an absorbtion with it's own importance. The concept of New Age is to make the self the centre of the universe and to negate a sense of sin. The idea being that if sin no longer exists then we have no need of God.

All of these spiritual alchemies have the element of the occult within them, therefore they will also deny the existence of the Devil. By rationalising sin and evil as mere expressions of our 'woundedness', they fail to explain what and whom is the source of evil? If evil can only be overcome through man's own 'power' does this not lead to an endless hopelessness as evil perpetuates itself with no end in sight. For if there is no source of evil then there is also no source of goodness.

We have within the heart of the Catholic Church a deep and integral Mysticism that goes directly to the heart of God Himself. Through the Saints and Mystics of our Church they have shed light on a path that will bring us closer to God and allow God to transform us into living Christ's if we give the Triune Spirit our own fiat. We also have the Sacraments which also unites us with God through the Sacrament of Penance and the Receiving of the Eucharist.

There can be NO marriage between the Catholic Church and New Age 'spiritualities' which deny the Revelatory Salvation found only through Jesus Christ, for to deny this Truth is to deny Christ Himself. Once again Scripture warns us, 'Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.'

When you drink from the devils brew, whatever disguise it may be, you imbibe spiritual poison.

In the end do we sing praises to God or dance with the Devil if the tune sounds right? Or can many no longer tell the difference?

Spiritism And the Occult

There is a misunderstanding abounding in many Catholic/Christian communities lately on what people think 'spirituality' means. Spirituality and spiritism are two very different things as many flock to see those 'soothsayers' who claim they can speak with the dead. They either become glued to their TV sets to watch little more than occultism or some misguided and grieving relatives seek relief by trying to contact their dead relatives.

Spiritism has now become a major market as more and more shows promote this means of communication and people pay money to these fraudulent practitioners of the occult. This conveys a fundamental lack of trust in God within the Christian, for when our loved ones pass from this world they then receive their Just reward from God and pass on to eternal Glory either by purification in purgatory or into the Kingdom of Heaven.

There are only a few occurrences when due to God's Love and compassion for His people He has allowed the Saints to warn and protect particular souls. It is a well known fact that the young Joan d'Arc had Heavenly visitations from St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Margaret and St. Michael the Archangel. It is also recorded That St. Maria Goretti appeared to her assailant, Alessandro Serenelli when he was imprisoned for her murder. The difference with these miraculous events were indeed just that, Miracles where no 'channeler' or 'soothsayer' was necessary.

To seek out these soothsayers, fortune tellers and other occult practices is to place your own soul in danger and to invite the demonic agents of Satan into your own soul and home. There can be no greater joy to Satan than to know that God's own children doubt His Goodness and His Word.

We must be wary of those who say they are the recipient of Divine visits, or that God is speaking through them, either by voice or by controlling their handwriting. It is prudent to wait upon the judgment of the Catholic Church in regards to miraculous visions and Divine messages.

There are only two forces in this world one is the Source of Goodness and the centre of Divine Love which is the Triune Spirit. The other force is of the satanic realm and his hordes of demons. There is no 'go-between' for the living and the dead to communicate with each other, so when one seeks out these para-normal experiences they are dealing with the demonic who masquerade as their loved ones. We must keep in mind in order to win a soul over, Satan will tell one truth to fool the trusting soul as he and his demons tell a thousand lies.

God's Salvation of His beloved children was paid in full by the Salvific death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior...God's Promises come free of charge, can we say the same of the soothsayers?

Written by Marie

What Will The Neighbours Think?

Many of us are terrified to speak God's Revealed Truth, in case we upset our neighbour. So rather than speak the Truth many instead take the option of the fence sitter, who simply wants to get along with everyone. This is a perverted form of loving one's neighbour for it is in essence a love of oneself, in that the focus is not your neighbours well being but rather one's own.

There is a great fear shared by many people that if we correct another we are then 'judging' them. This is a misalignment of compassion for to not correct another if we know them to be committing a serious sin is to leave them open to the Judgment of God. What many don't understand is that when we fail to correct another who is going astray, we also stand condemned for it is not love that stops us from speaking the Truth, but fear.

There are many people who instead of living to please God instead place their emphasis on being pleasing to man even if that means condoning sinful lifestyle choices, vulgar and crude behaviour or immodesty. They accept all this not in a spirit of love but in a spirit of fear, this springs from the enemy who incites us to fear that our friends will turn against us if we correct them. When correction is done in the right spirit then none should take offense but instead we should feel grateful that our mistakes or misconceptions have been corrected.

We must face the fact that no-one likes to be corrected, as President Harry Truman once said, "I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it is hell." This is the same with our friends, they may not wish to hear the Truth but that should not prevent us from speaking it.

When we stand by our principles and what we believe to be true, then we become a beacon of light in a world grown dark with sin, as someone once said, "Live in such a way that those who know you but don’t know God will come to know God because they know you."

To worry over what others may think of you is to lose focus on why we are Christians and it is not so that we can gain friends and influence people, as Thomas Kempis reminds us, "Great tranquility of heart is his who cares for neither praise nor blame." When we spend inordinate time worrying over what others think of us, what does this say about our level of Faith and what we hold to be true? Even if our friends turn away from us it should matter not if we have spoken the Truth with compassion and love.

We must abide with each other in our faults and failings in full knowledge that none of us are perfect but what we cannot do is accommodate sin as if it were merely a trifle.

Sin is not a fault. It is not a failing. It is a choice.

Rather than wonder what will the neighbours think if you speak God's Truth? Ask yourself what will God think if you stay silent?

written by Marie

The Hellish Truth

One of Satan's great achievements during this century is not only in convincing many that he doesn't exist, it also encompasses those who refuse to believe that hell exists.

Hell does exist, the Bible speaks of hell as does the Catholic Church, yet hell has also become an uncomfortable teaching, why is this so?

We are given warnings about what awaits those who refuse to believe in the existance of hell and therefore live their lives with no accountability and a refusal to repent from sins which have angered God.

Another great and grave danger is when people resign themselves to spending time in Purgatory, mainly because they do not wish to amend their ways even though by their continuous wrongful actions they are challenging God's Justice. If you know your behaviour is unacceptable to God and you refuse to amend or sincerely repent of your sin, then you will be lucky indeed to escape hell fire. To continue to sin in the belief that God will be merciful is to presume on God's Mercy this is not meritorious it is indeed presumption.

If the Bible and the Catholic Catechism are not enough we also have our Saints who through the Mercy of God also warns us of hell. As Saint Faustina writes in her diary, "Today, I was led by an angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of conscience; the third is that one's condition will never change; the fourth is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it – a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger; the fifth torture is continual darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and, despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own....I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence."

We need to understand in order to obtain and gain God's Mercy we must seek it with all our hearts, mind and soul and then go and sin NO more. We know that Jesus came for the sick to heal them of their wounds, he mixed with the sinner but did not become defiled by their proximity. But our Lord did not come to Save us, only for us to return once again in full knowledge and consent to that self same sin.

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

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

Hell exists

(Scripture Isaiah 14:9-15, Luke 16:19-31, Revelation 9:1-2, Revelation 20:1-15/ CCC 1033- 1037. Divine Mercy In My Soul-St. Faustina Kowalska )

Written by Marie

Men and Spirituality

There is one thing I have just realised there are very few parish activities that involve men when it comes to prayers and devotionals. Why is this?

Yet, if the Church needs painting or renovating men's hands go up, as they volunteer their time to their Parish. This also includes any outside work.

The father is the head of the home and in some cases the sole wage provider. He faces hardship and temptations everyday.

There will be times when his employer will not appreciate the work the he has done, and where it is simply stressful to continue in a job that he may not like but where he must stay in order to provide for his family.

When it comes to temptations they are everywhere from women who dress immodestly and flirt openly to graphic billboards. There are even young women in the work place who view married men as challenges and like any challenge these young women aim to win.

We are not self sufficient and though women also face their own difficulties and stresses there are groups who can help replenish them. From Rosary groups to young Catholic mothers groups and other woman organizations but where do men go to gain strength and spiritual nourishment?

Perhaps it is time to begin addressing this by starting up prayer warrior groups for men where they can come together and pray for their families, their jobs and resist temptation as well as other important issues.

I know in some cases that men are wary of the 'spiritual' word thinking it to be feminine and yet some of the Church's spiritual giants are men, St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, St Francis de Sales and ofcoure Jesus.

We see through Christ's example where he would leave the disciples in order to pray to His Father. Prayer was important to Jesus. Why then is prayers and devotionals seen as a 'woman thing?'

Look at your own parish and see how many men have prayer groups/bible studies etc?

If none exist then perhaps it's time to start. It's a very tough world out there, men also need to be replenished and renewed.

In a dog eat dog world, men need to be validated. To have their own 'place' to go in order to replenish their spiritual strength and to share their concerns with other men who are striving to do the best and be the best for their families.

Men need groups of their own. What wife would want to hear that a younger woman may be tempting her husband at his work place? Yet, some men do face these temptations and battle them daily.

Do YOUR Parishes have male orientated prayer groups/Bible Studies?