Christ: The Greatest Radical!

'Be holy because I am holy.'

[Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2;20:7; 1 Peter 1:16]

'Be prefect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.'

(Matthew 5:48)

Christ Jesus taught His disciples to pray. The first portion was as follows:

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

(Matthew 6:9)

Realize this, this prayer calls for the dissolution

Of the kingdom of this world.

When the Kingdom of Christ comes externally to earth,

As Scripture says it will

And His will is done on earth as in Heaven,

The kingdom of this world, the kingdom of Satan,

The kingdom that comprises every nation on earth, is done away with.

'The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord

And of His Christ,

And He will reign for ever and ever.' (Revelation 11:15)

At the return of Christ Jesus, the kingdom of this world

Comprised of ever nation on earth is done away with

Never to rise again;

And the Kingdom of God is established on earth for a thousand years.

At the end of the thousand years,

This earth is done away with

And God creates a New Heaven and a New Earth that lasts for ever:

Then I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth,

For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,

And there was no longer any sea. (Revelation 21:1)

If you belong to Christ, you need to realize what you are praying,

When you pray as Christ commanded.

You are praying the most radical prayer that could be prayed.

In doing so, you are saying that you are part of the Kingdom of God;

It lives within you (Luke 17:21);

That is in direct opposition to the kingdom of this world.

You are praying for the extinction of the kingdom of this world

And all that it entails;

And your prayer will be answered, because Scripture has foretold that it will.

As a Christian you are in direct opposition to the kingdom of this world,

Because you agree with Christ Jesus, that what it does is evil.

You are willing to be hated, as the world hated Christ Jesus,

And hates Him to this day;

To see His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as in Heaven.

You become as radical as Christ Jesus when you belong to Him

And pray as He commanded.

You are also saying that it is your fervent desire to be holy as He is holy

And to be perfect as He is perfect;

Which can only be accomplished by Christ living in and through you.

It is Christ in you, your hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

You agree with the apostle Paul:

That you have been crucified to this world with Christ

And you no longer live but it is Christ who lives in you.

This life that you now live you live by faith in the Son of God

And His power at work in you.

You have set your heart on things above,

Your life is hidden with Christ in God,

You clothe yourself with the garments of Christ,

And let His Word dwell richly in you.

You are saying and realizing that the Kingdom of God resides in you;

The Kingdom that is in direct opposition to the kingdom of this world.

From the days of John the baptist until the present time

The Kingdom of Heaven [which resides in those who belong to Christ]

Has endured violent assault

[Because it is in direct opposition to the kingdom of this world],

And violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize]--

A share in the Heavenly Kingdom is sought for

With most ardent zeal and intense exertion. (Matthew 11:12 AMP)

There are no passive Christians. None!

They have found the pearl of great price [Christ] and will not let go!

They have overcome (conquered) him [Satan, the ruler of this world]

By means of the blood of the Lamb and the utterance of their testimony,

For they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death--

Holding their lies cheap till they had to die [for their witnessing].

(Revelation 12:11 AMP)

Father give me Your heart, Your mind, Your will, Your emotions, Your Spirit,

That I might stand with You and for You today

Along with all my brothers and sisters who belong to You.

As God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!

Socialism Is A Failure!

You can read about America's first experiment with socialism

At .norcalblogs.com/post_scripts/2009/11/first-thanksgiving.html

It failed, as it has everywhere it has been tried.

President Obama, the Progressives, the Democrats

Are simply the latest version of the failure of mankind who reject God

And His savior, Christ Jesus.

“From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.”

Karl Marx's slogan is a delusion from the mind of man.

In fact all the political systems (schemes) of man will fail.

Why you ask? Because God designed mankind to work only one Way.

Christ Jesus has eloquently described that Way! He alone is that Way!

It is the only Way that works

Because it is the only Way designed by God to work.

This is an inescapable reality.

Christ Jesus will return when all the schemes of man have been exhausted.

Every way outside of the Word of God is inspired by Satan

Who came to steal, kill and destroy.

Satan takes mankind to the point of extinction;

If those days had not been shortened no one would remain living.

(Matthew 24:22)

All of the noise, all of the political wrangling of the current election cycle,

Will be for nothing; It is meaningless.

The only path to a meaningful life is detailed in the Word of God.

All other paths, all paths devised by man,

Will prove to be meaningless and useless and will fail.

There is a way that seems right to a man,

But in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12)

This is the great lesson of The Word Of God;

The Book that is an open letter to mankind.

It describes the fruitlessness of all the efforts of mankind

Without following God.

It presents to mankind God's Savior, Christ Jesus;

He is the only Way, the only Truth and the only LIFE.

Those who receive Him, receive the LIFE He offers;

It is available to every person.

America has turned godless,

She has sown to the wind and is reaping the whirlwind. (Hosea 8:7)

Save yourself from this corrupt generation (Acts 2:40-41),

Come out of Babylon as Christ Jesus admonished. (Revelation 18:4)

(Jeremiah 51:6)

Find shelter in the Presence of God:

In the shelter of Your Presence You hide them from the intrigues of men;

In Your dwelling You keep them safe from the strife of tongues.

(Psalm 31:20)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91:1)

As God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!

Who Are You For?

Joshua, standing on the plains of Jericho, had to decide.

He looked up and saw a Man standing in front of him

With a drawn sword in His hand.

Joshua went up to Him and asked,

'Are you for us or for our enemies?'

Neither, He replied,

'But as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.'

Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence and asked Him,

'What message does My Lord have for his servant?'

The Commander of the Lord's army replied,

'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.'

And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

Who are you for?

Are you for a particular country, a particular church denomination,

A particular city, a particular group within the city?

Are you for your family, your wife, your husband, your son, your daughter?

Are you for a particular person? Who are you for?

That single question will determine your eternity.

Joshua answered by taking off his sandals acknowledging

That the ground he was standing on was holy

Because on it stood The Commander of the Lord's army, Christ Jesus.

With your spiritual eyes can you see The Commander of the Lord's army

Standing before you?

Are you for Him? Have you taken off your sandals before Him,

And reverenced Him?

Will Christ Jesus find faith in you when you stand before Him?

Christ is for no one, but those who live in Him.

If you live in Him you are of Him; of His Spirit.

He upholds the integrity of Heaven, the integrity of His Kingdom.

It is holy and undefiled.

His ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts.

As high as the heavens are above the earth are His thoughts above ours.

(Isaiah 55:9)

The only ones He esteems those who are of a humble and contrite spirit

And tremble at His Word. (Isaiah 66:2)

Christ Jesus said:

'I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man

And drink His blood, you have no LIFE in you.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has Eternal LIFE,

And I will raise him up at the LAST DAY.

For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink.

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.

Just as the Living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father,

So the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

This is the Bread that came down from Heaven.

Our forefathers ate manna and died,

But he who feeds on this Bread will live forever.'

He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

On hearing it, many of His disciples said,

'This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?'

Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them,

'Does this offend you?

What if you see the Son of man ascend to where He was before!

The Spirit gives LIFE; the flesh counts for nothing.

The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are LIFE.

Yet there are some of you who do not believe.' (John 6:53-64)

In other words, only those

Who are consummately identified with Christ Jesus;

Those who continually feed on Him and His Word;

Continually partaking of the Bread of LIFE, have LIFE.

Those who live in and through Him and in whom He lives in and through.

Know this, there is only One LIFE, Christ Jesus.

He is the only Eternal LIFE

All natural life and all Eternal LFE emanate from Him.

If you live in Him you live in His LIFE.

If you do not live in Him you have no life, you are dead while you live.

You are either for Him, living in Him, or you are against Him.

Know this, the world is the enemy of Christ Jesus. (James 4:4)

If you love the world you are an enemy of Christ Jesus.

At the last battle on earth, all the nations of the earth

Come to fight against Christ Jesus.

They are completely defeated and the kingdom of the world,

Satan's kingdom, is done away with.

At that time Christ Jesus, The Commander of the Lord's army,

Establishes His Kingdom on earth for a thousand years.

As God has spoken, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!

The Gross Ignorance Of Mankind!

The God of Creation has given mankind 6,000 years to turn to Him.

“Time is about to END!

Two thousand years ago God sent His one and only Son, as Savior,

To a world dead in sin.

Christ Jesus, the only Way, the only Truth and the only LIFE.

Only through Christ Jesus

Can a person escape being condemned to Eternal Death.

Since that time, a few have put their faith, hope and trust in Christ;

The narrow Way, that only a few find.

All who have done so, received Eternal LIFE;

All who did not, received Eternal Death.

The world and their gross sin crucified Christ Jesus.

Every person who has ever sinned crucified Christ Jesus,

Which includes everyone who ever lived.

He was crucified from the foundation of the world,

By all the sin that would be committed in the world.

For two thousand years those who belong to Christ Jesus,

Have proclaimed Him as the only Savior of the world;

As the only Way to Eternal LIFE; The only Way out of this world alive.

This is similar to The Day Of Noah.

Noah was 500 years old when God first spoke to him

And told him:

'My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal.' (Genesis 6:3)

Today, God is nearly finished contending with man.

The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become,

And that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart

Was only evil all the time.

The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth,

And His heart was filled with pain.

So the Lord said,

'I will wipe mankind whom I have created, from the face of the earth--

Men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground,

And birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.'

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time,

And he walked with God. (Genesis 6:5-9)

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.

God saw how corrupt the earth had become,

For all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

So God said to Noah,

'I am going to put an end to all people,

For the earth is filled with violence because of them.

I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. (Genesis 6:11-13)

[Today, God is saying to those who belong to Him as He did to Noah:

The earth will soon be ruined and most of mankind destroyed;

Make yourself an ARK to save yourself.

Today, that ARK is faith in Christ Jesus and walking in His Light.]

Noah did everything just as God commanded him. (Genesis 6:23)

For more that one hundred years the people of Noah's day

Heard him preach righteousness; They watched as he built the ARK.

They watched as the animals marched into the ARK,

An outstanding miracle.

They watched as Noah and his family entered the ARK.

God closed the door to the ARK.

For seven days the ARK stood there and nothing happened.

It is certain that the people outside mocked Noah and his family.

On the eighth day however, it began to rain; It had never rained before.

And the rain did not stop until all outside the ARK perished.

Today, mankind in their gross ignorance and deceived by Satan,

Mock the Word of God and what it foretells;

They mock the people of God who speak the Truth of God.

They will receive their “false savior,” the Antichrist, the Beast of Revelation.

They will receive his “mark” and worship him.

Then God's Great Tribulation will come upon them

And there will be no escape; They will be condemned to Eternal Death.

Today, while it is called Today, every living person can turn to Christ Jesus

And be saved from this terrible, soon coming reality.

Those who belong to Christ extend their hands, the hands of Christ.

I pray that many will do so and receive Christ's promise of Eternal LIFE.

As God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!

The Nations Fall Before Christ!

Psalm 45 (with paraphrase and interpretation)

My [king David, the Psalmist] heart is stirred by a noble theme

As I recite my verses of the King [Christ Jesus];

My tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

Christ Jesus, You are the most excellent of men

And Your lips have been anointed with grace [by the Holy Spirit],

Since God has blessed You forever.

Gird Your sword upon Your side, O Mighty One [King Jesus];

Clothe Yourself with splendor and majesty.

In Your majesty ride forth victoriously

In behalf of Truth, Humility and Righteousness;

Let Your right hand display awesome deeds.

Let Your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the King's enemies;

Let the nations fall beneath Your feet.

Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;

A scepter of justice will be the scepter of Your Kingdom

You love righteousness and hate wickedness;

Therefore God, Your God , has set You above Your companions

By anointing You with the Oil of Joy [The Holy Spirit].

Christ Jesus, All Your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;

From palaces adorned with ivory

The music of the strings makes You glad.

Daughters of kings are among Your honored women;

At Your right hand is the Royal Bride [The Bride Of Christ] in gold of Ophir.

Listen, O Daughter [The Bride Of Christ], consider and give ear:

Forget your people and your father's house.

The King is enthralled by your beauty;

Honor Him for He is your Lord.

The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift,

Men of wealth will seek your favor.

All glorious is the Princess [The Bride Of Christ] within her chamber;

Her gown is interwoven with gold.

In embroidered garments she is led to the King;

Her virgin companions follow her and are brought to Christ Jesus.

They are led in with joy and gladness;

They enter the palace of the King [Christ Jesus].

I will perpetuate Your [The Bride Of Christ] memory through all generations;

Therefore the nations will praise You [The Bride Of Christ] for ever and ever.

(Psalm 45 NIV)

My Complete Paraphrase:

King David takes up his pen to write

Of the coming glory of Christ Jesus and His Bride.

Christ Jesus is the most excellent of men [He is the God Man].

His lips speak the most wonderful words ever spoken,

They are anointed with grace [by the Holy Spirit],

Since God blessed Him forever

Soon, He will gird His sword on His side, the Mighty One of God;

He will clothe Himself with splendor and majesty.

In His majesty He will ride forth victoriously;

All the nations of the earth will fall before Him.

He acts in behalf of TRUTH, HUMILITY and RIGHTEOUSNESS;

The antithesis of the character of the nations;

The very nature of God, which is all powerful.

His right hand will display awesome deeds, as He smites the nations.

His sharp arrows pierce the hearts of His enemies;

The nations fall beneath the feet of King Jesus.

The Throne of King Jesus', the Throne of God, will last forever.

It is has existed eternally in the Heavens.

A scepter of justice will be the scepter of Christ Jesus' Kingdom

As it has been from Eternity past.

Christ Jesus loves righteousness and hates wickedness;

Because of this fact, God, His God has set Him above His companions

By anointing Him with the Oil of Joy, even the Holy Spirit,

Who is the anointing of God.

Christ Jesus' robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;

From palaces in Heaven adorned with ivory

The music of the strings of the instruments of Heaven makes Him glad.

At the right hand of Christ Jesus is His Royal Bride [The Bride Of Christ]

In the gold of Ophir.

The daughters of kings, who are left,

Are among those who serve King Jesus and His Bride.

God Almighty says to The Bride Of Christ:

Forget your people and your earthly father's house

King Jesus is enthralled by your beauty;

Honor Him, for He is your Lord.

Those left of Satan's bride, The Daughter of Tyre, will come with a gift,

Men of worldly wealth, who are left, will seek the Bride's favor.

The Bride Of Christ is all glorious, a princess;

Her gown is interwoven with gold.

In embroidered garments she is led to King Jesus.

Her virgin companions follow her and are brought to King Jesus.

They are led in with joy and gladness [that will never end];

They enter the Palace of King Jesus.

The sons of God, those redeemed from the world

By the ministry of The Bride,

Will take the place of The Bride's fathers.

These sons will be princes throughout redeemed earth.

The memory of The Bride Of Christ and her ministry

Will be perpetuated by God through all generations;

Those redeemed from every nation

Will praise The Bride of Christ, for ever and ever.

As God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!

The Courage Of Bishop Daniel Jenky

The Courage of Bishop Daniel Jenky: Catholics by Conviction!

By Deacon Keith Fournier
April 23rd, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
One of the silverlinings in the ominous cloud threatening the freedom of the Church in America is the extraordinary way the hostility of the new Caesar has mobilized the faithful. Perhaps even more heartening is the way that this growing and open hostility has elicited such courageous leadership from so many of our shepherds. Most recently that kind of courage was demonstrated by Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois.
PEORIA, IL (Catholic Online) - On Thursday, January 19,2012, Pope Benedict XVI  addressed the Bishops of Region IV in the United States (Baltimore, Washington and the archdiocese for the Military Services) gathered for their ad limina visit. He warned them of a "radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres". He further warned them that the "seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion."

One of the silverlinings in the ominous cloud threatening the freedom of the Church in America is the extraordinary way the hostility of the new Caesar has mobilized the faithful. Perhaps even more heartening is the way that this growing and open hostility has elicited such courageous leadership from so many of our shepherds. Most recently that kind of courage was demonstrated by Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois. His excellency gave a tremendous homily on April 14, 2012, at a Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral during the annual "Call to Catholic Men of Faith" event. Over 500 men gathered and, on a rainy day, marched through downtown Peoria bearing witness to the ancient but ever new Catholic faith. During the event the Bishop presided at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where the men and many others joined him. I paid particular attention to the event because my wife is from Peoria and became a Catholic many years ago in that Diocese.  In his homily this good Bishop did what all good homilists should do, he reflected on the readings of the day for the Liturgy. The first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4: 13-21), recounted the hostility faced by Peter, the first Pope, and the beloved disciple, John, as they exercised their apostolic ministry in another culture which had grown hostile to the Church and her message of genuine liberation. Peter and John left an example which has been followed for over two millennia whenever the Church faces open hostility from the State. It is in this account that we find these often quoted words: " So they called them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard." The Gospel for the day was a post resurrection account from St Mark's gospel (Mk 16: 9-15). Jesus tells the believers to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature." The Apostles did just what the Lord said and they turned the world of their age upside down (Acts 17:6). So too have their successors. Bishop Jenky of Peoria did a good job of demonstrating the same kind of apostolic courage shown by Peter and John when he reminded all Catholics "We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead be Catholics by conviction."   The homily has been quoted in a piecemeal fashion by those who do not want Catholic Bishops to exhibit a backbone in the face of the growing hostility toward the Church in the West. Fortunately, their effort to intimidate is not dissuading our shepherds. The entire homily has been posted by the Diocese and can be read here. Our readers can also listen to this courageous Bishop on a podcast by visiting here We offer the homily in full context and complete below.  ------Homily of Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois. There is only one basic reason why Christianity exists and that is the fact that Jesus Christ truly rose from the grave. The disciples never expected the resurrection. The unanimous testimony of all four Gospels is that the terrible death of Jesus on the cross entirely dashed all their hopes about Jesus and about his message. He was dead, and that was the end of it. They looked for nothing more, and they expected nothing more. So as much as they had loved him, in their eyes Jesus was a failed messiah. His dying seemed to entirely rob both his teaching and even his miracles of any lasting significance.And they were clearly terrified that his awful fate, at the hands of the Sanhedrin and the Romans, could easily become their awful fate. So they hid, trembling with terror, behind shuttered windows and locked doors. When the Risen Christ suddenly appeared in their midst, their reaction was shocked incredulity. They simply could not believe their own eyes. Reality only very slowly began to penetrate their consciousness when Jesus offers proof of his resurrection. He shows them the wounds on his hands, his feet, and his side. Jesus even allowed them to touch him. He breaks bread with them and eats with them. And only then could they admit to themselves what had seemed absolutely impossible - the one who had truly died had truly risen! The Crucified now stood before them as their Risen, glorious, triumphant Lord. His rising from the grave was every bit as real as his dying on the cross. The resurrection was the manifest proof of the invincible power of Almighty God. The inescapable fact of the resurrection confirmed every word Jesus had ever spoken and every work Jesus had ever done.The Gospel was the truth. Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel. Jesus was the Savior of the world. Jesus was the very Son of God. There is no other explanation for Christianity. It should have died out and entirely disappeared when Christ died and was buried, except for the fact that Christ was truly risen, and that during the 40 days before his Ascension, he interacted with his Apostles and disciples, and on one occasion even with hundreds of his followers. Today's appointed Gospel reading for this Saturday in the Octave of Easter is taken from the 16th Chapter of Mark. It concludes with a command from the lips of Jesus, given to his disciples, given to the whole Church, given to you and me assembled here today: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature." We heard in today's Second Reading from the Acts of the Apostles that the same Sanhedrin that had condemned Jesus was amazed at the boldness of Peter and John. Perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men, they recognized them as companions of Jesus. They warned them never again to teach, or speak to anyone, in the name of Jesus. But the elders and the scribes might as well have tried to turn back the tide, or hold back an avalanche. Peter and John had seen the Risen Christ with their own eyes. Peter and John were filled with the Holy Spirit. They asked whether it is right "in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard." And Peter and John and all the Apostles, starting first in Jerusalem in Judea and Galilee and then to the very ends of the earth, announced the Resurrection and the Good News to everyone they encountered.According to the clear testimony of the Scriptures, these Apostles had once been rather ordinary men - like you and me. Their faith hadn't always been strong. They made mistakes. They committed sins. They were often afraid and confused. But meeting the Risen Lord had changed everything about these first disciples, and knowing the Risen Lord should also change everything about us. You know, it has never been easy to be a Christian and it's not supposed to be easy! The world, the flesh, and the devil will always love their own, and will always hate us. As Jesus once predicted, they hated me, they will certainly hate you. But our Faith, when it is fully lived, is a fighting faith and a fearless faith. Grounded in the power of the resurrection, there is nothing in this world, and nothing in hell, that can ultimately defeat God's one, true, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. For 2,000 years the enemies of Christ have certainly tried their best. But think about it. The Church survived and even flourished during centuries of terrible persecution, during the days of the Roman Empire. The Church survived barbarian invasions. The Church survived wave after wave of Jihads. The Church survived the age of revolution. The Church survived Nazism and Communism. And in the power of the resurrection, the Church will survive the hatred of Hollywood, the malice of the media, and the mendacious wickedness of the abortion industry. The Church will survive the entrenched corruption and sheer incompetence of our Illinois state government, and even the calculated disdain of the President of the United States, his appointed bureaucrats in HHS, and of the current majority of the federal Senate. May God have mercy on the souls of those politicians who pretend to be Catholic in church, but in their public lives, rather like Judas Iscariot, betray Jesus Christ by how they vote and how they willingly cooperate with intrinsic evil. As Christians we must love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, but as Christians we must also stand up for what we believe and always be ready to fight for the Faith. The days in which we live now require heroic Catholicism, not casual Catholicism. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead be Catholics by conviction. In our own families, in our parishes, where we live and where we work - like that very first apostolic generation - we must be bold witnesses to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We must be a fearless army of Catholic men, ready to give everything we have for the Lord, who gave everything for our salvation. Remember that in past history other governments have tried to force Christians to huddle and hide only within the confines of their churches like the first disciples locked up in the Upper Room. In the late 19th century, Bismarck waged his "Kulturkampf," a Culture War, against the Roman Catholic Church, closing down every Catholic school and hospital, convent and monastery in Imperial Germany. Clemenceau, nicknamed "the priest eater," tried the same thing in France in the first decade of the 20th Century. Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care. In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama - with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path. Now things have come to such a pass in America that this is a battle that we could lose, but before the awesome judgement seat of Almighty God this is not a war where any believing Catholic may remain neutral. This fall, every practicing Catholic must vote, and must vote their Catholic consciences, or by the following fall our Catholic schools, our Catholic hospitals, our Catholic Newman Centers, all our public ministries -- only excepting our church buildings - could easily be shut down. Because no Catholic institution, under any circumstance, can ever cooperate with the instrinsic evil of killing innocent human life in the womb. No Catholic ministry - and yes, Mr. President, for Catholics our schools and hospitals are ministries - can remain faithful to the Lordship of the Risen Christ and to his glorious Gospel of Life if they are forced to pay for abortions. Now remember what was the life-changing experience that utterly transformed those fearful and quaking disciples into fearless, heroic apostles. They encountered the Risen Christ. They reverenced his sacred wounds. They ate and drank with him. Is that not what we do here together, this morning at this annual men's march Mass? This is the Saturday of the Octave of Easter, a solemnity so great and central to our Catholic faith that Easter Day is celebrated for eight full days, and the Easter season is joyously observed as the Great 50 Days of Easter. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ - risen from the grave - is in our midst. His Holy Word teaches us the truth. His Sacred Body and Blood becomes our food and drink. The Risen Christ is our Eternal Lord; the Head of his Body, the Church; our High Priest; our Teacher; our Captain in the well-fought fight. We have nothing to fear, but we have a world to win for him. We have nothing to fear, for we have an eternal destiny in heaven. We have nothing to fear, though the earth may quake, kingdoms may rise and fall, demons may rage, but St. Michael the Archangel, and all the hosts of heaven, fight on our behalf. No matter what happens in this passing moment, at the end of time and history, our God is God and Jesus is Lord, forever and ever. Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! Christ wins! Christ reigns! Christ commands! Article brought to you by: Catholic Online (www.catholic.org) [These are my comments: Every Christian must stand with Bishop Jenky. President Obama is acting as an enemy of Christ Jesus as he tries to intimidate Christians into scumming to this edict, which is against Christ and therefore against all Christians. We must stand together, with all people of conscience and faith, against this edict at this time. If we do not we will have eternal regrets.]

The Nations In A Hard Spot!

America and the nations of the world are between a rock and a hard spot.

Virtually all of them are up to their necks in debt

Because they have over spent and continue to over spend.

They have overspent trying to create their socialist, communist paradises

In direct opposition to the God of Creation.

They have tried to create a modern version of the Tower of Babel,

A New World Order.

Now, as they continue to over spend, their credit ratings drop,

Increasing the cost to finance their debt.

If they continue they will find no one willing to buy their worthless paper

And that will be the end of their spending.

However, then, depression will ensue.

On the other hand, if they act prudently and reduce spending

And attempt to pay off the tremendous debt they have compiled,

It is likely that their economies will contract or slow down,

Which will mean more joblessness and continuing recession.

This will gain for the politicians the disfavor of the electorate;

They will not be able to fulfill their false promises,

And they may well be thrown out of office.

A spoiled electorate does not like to be told

They cannot have their cake and eat it too.

However, at this point, there is no painless way out.

The debt caused by overspending must

And will be paid for one way or the other.

America is spending almost twice what it takes in.

This cannot continue or the interest on the debt

Will swallow the whole economy.

America is on the road to financial disaster.

America and the nations are in this situation because of their blatant sin;

Their raging against God and His Christ, Jesus. (Psalm 2)

There is no way out of this situation

Unless America and the nations turn to God.

To change this situation requires the blessing of God

And God will not bless a nation that dishonors Him.

The only hope for America and the nations is to turn to God;

To honor God and the Savior He sent, Christ Jesus.

This means that they would have to stop their raging against Him,

And turn to Him in heartfelt repentance.

At this time, America and the nations have dishonored God,

And by doing so, have placed themselves In the hands of Satan.

This is the Set-Up for all the END Time prophecies of Scripture.

The world will soon clamor for their Nimrod, their Antichrist,

The “Beast” of Revelation, their “false savior” and his “mark.”

This is how transparent this “enlightened” world is.

They are “children” of the evil one,

Having rejected being children of God.

Three years ago, America clamored for “hope and change.”

Hope in what? Change to what?

God sent His Christ, Jesus, because there is “hope” in Him alone.

Christ is the only WAY, the only TRUTH and the only LIFE.

As God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!

To Have Everything, Possess Nothing!

It has been said that we come into the world with nothing

And we can take nothing out of it.

While this is true of the material realm it is not true of the spiritual realm.

Everything belongs to God

In both the material as well as the spiritual realms,

Even our very selves.

If we give ourselves to God we gain all that is His;

If we possess nothing but Him, we gain everything.

If we give everything we see as belonging to us in this world:

Our lives, parents, relatives, sons, daughters, friends, 

Jobs, homes, property, cars, bank accounts

And anything else that may “belong” to us, to God;

Only then, do we have everything that belongs to God,

Which everything worth having.

This is the paradox of this life in this world.

In the next life, the life beyond this world, there is Heaven and Hell.

If we have in this world nothing but God, we gain eternal LIFE

And all that is His, because He makes us One with Himself.

If things in this world possess us, and whatever we possess, possesses us;

Then we do not have God;

Then Hell is our destination and we loose everything worth having.

Christ Jesus said:

Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it,

And whoever loses his life will preserve it. (Luke 17:33)

If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself

And take up his cross and follow Me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,

But whoever loses his life for Me will find it.

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world,

Yet forfeits his soul?

For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's Glory with His angels,

And then He will reward each person according to what he has done.

(Matthew 16:24-27)

The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.

He thought to himself, 'What shall I do?

I have no place to store my crops.'

Then he said, 'This is what I'll do.

I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones,

And there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I'll say to myself,

'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years

Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.'

But God said to him, 'You fool!

This very night your life will be demanded from you.

Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself

But is not rich toward God.' (Luke 12:16-21)

I pray for them (those who belong to Christ).

I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me,

For they are Yours.

All I have is yours, and all You have is mine. (John 17:9-10)

The apostle Paul said:

And He raised us up together with Him [Christ], [at this time]

And made us sit down together—giving us joint seating with Him--

In the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus,

The Messiah, the Anointed One.

He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come

The immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace

(His unmerited favor) in kindness

And goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6-7 AMP)

Have you given up everything in this life

That you might have everything in the Kingdom of God now, and forever?

Christ came to set us free.

We cannot posses things or persons in this world and be free.

The only freedom that exists is in the Kingdom of God.

Everything else is a burden we cannot bear.

Christ Jesus said:

'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

And I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

For I am gentle and humble in heart,

And you will find rest for your souls.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.'

The “yoke” of Christ is free of worldly possessions,

Yet, possess all the riches of Heaven, now and forever.

Those who seek first, above all else, the Kingdom of God

Are given by God all they need. 

As God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!