The Catholic Church—Saying “NO” to a World Screaming “YES”

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson

How did the precepts of ethics and morality, based on the Ten Commandments and the "Golden Rule", become a pariah to so many? How did these principles ever become inverted?  Why have they seemingly been tossed by many into the dumpster of the outdated and irrelevant?

There is one critical aspect that drives this onslaught and I think we do not pay close enough attention to it. Those that are flailing away at our religious heritage and freedoms are not committing these attacks on their own. They have a brilliant, diabolical, hate-consumed leader inspiring them onward.

Their leader's name is Satan and he is the Master of deceit and deception. Satan's biggest and most hated enemy after Jesus Christ is the church that Jesus founded, the Catholic Church. Satan’s hatred for the true Church of Christ is unimaginable. That is because it still spits in his evil eye and says NO!

Over the centuries it has withstood his evil onslaughts even when they came from within. It also rejects today’s “liberation theology”, the perverse philosophy that suggests “Jesus wants you to be happy so just enjoy yourself.” The fact is, Jesus wants us to be happy with him in heaven. This is the testing grounds where we can earn the “right’ to join Him there—not decide what that “right” is.

 The Church has teachings that have been in place for two thousand years. But secularists maintain that the Church has "nerve and audacity" to use the words, SIN and MORALITY.  In today's self-indulged, secular world it seems anyone who might suggest that a particular behavior is "immoral" or "sinful" is branded and vilified as intolerant, hateful, racist and even uncaring.

 How pompous and pride filled this is. Only the new age secularists would have the audacity to suggest that their inverted "virtue" is GOOD and the concept of self-denial is SINFUL.

My favorite comic book character was, Superman. Occasionally, Superman would get stuck in an alternative universe called "Bizarro World". It was a place where everything was backwards. Up was down, hello meant good-bye and yes meant no. Even the planet, Htrae, (Earth backwards), was shaped like a cube. It is the same with the folly of inverted secular virtue. I call this world "Secularro".

On Secularro killing is "Good" and if you stand against it you are bad. For instance, take abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and partial-birth abortion. The church says NO! On Secularro the Church is now bad. Fornication and people "hooking up" for one-night stands is heralded as "Good". The church says NO!  On Secularro the church is told to mind its own business. Divorced and remarried Catholics want to receive the Holy Eucharist. The church, as it always has done, says NO!

On Secularro, the church is deemed intolerant and insensitive and is out of touch with the modern world and needs to get into the 21st century. Homosexuals demand to be married in the Church. The Church says NO!  Marriage is between a man and a woman ONLY. Satan screams from his evil world to his followers, Say “YES! YES! YES!" Holy Mother Church says “NO!” In the alternative universe, the Catholic Church is evil.

On Secularro the inverted unwittingly listen to Satan’s message and pound on the dogmatic doors of the Catholic Church demanding that they be opened to personal wants and desires. Unlike Bizarro World where things are just 'crazy' on Secularro, things are mean and vindictive. Secularro is ruled by hate. Satan is Hate.

There are other Christian denominations that have succumbed to outside pressures and reworked their "teachings" to accommodate the demands from Secularro. They have been praised as "progressive" and "in touch" with the needs of the citizens of Secularro. The reality is, they have failed their followers. But the Catholic Church has not caved into the demands and pressures and it never will. Therefore, Satan hates all things Catholic and always will.

The Catholic Church still teaches that there are Seven Deadly Sins. They are pride, greed,  lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth aka laziness. Note the key word in describing these sins is the word "deadly". The Church teaches that these sins can destroy the soul of anyone who might indulge these human appetites. The church also offers forgiveness for falling prey to these sins. This forgiveness is available 24/7.

On Secularro, the church is mocked and laughed at for suggesting these actions offend God. These acts are acceptable because an individual committing one of these sins is just being human and God made us that way and wants us to be "happy". So--sin away. Just remember, if you subscribe to that concept the victory in the fight for your soul goes to Satan.

It is time to start looking hard at the Bible. And we might start by going to St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 6: 16-17.

In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,

To quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,

which is the word of God.

                                 

                                        ©Larry Peterson 2016 All Rights Reserved

The Demons of Abadon; Cover & Preview

ANNOUNCING!

The Demons of Abadon

A Novel

By Larry Peterson

NOW AVAILABLE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5.8

Part of the Rebirth of Catholic/Christian Fiction

The Darkened were blackened souls filled with hate who had chosen to reject goodness in life. Upon leaving their earthly bodies they moved into a world absent of hope. It was the most dreadful place to be. Scorched and dark, it was steaming hot and never ending. The worst part was, this place was devoid of second chances. This caused the hatred inside the Darkened to burn like a white-hot, unquenchable fire. If only they could have said just once, “I’m sorry, please forgive me.” 

Jacob had sat almost motionless for almost three hours. He had to go to the bathroom but, afraid to move, had held it. He could not contain it any longer and slowly and as quietly as possible began to stand up. His first step toward the rear of the house was silent. The second one was not. A “squeak” from the old plank floor reverberated up from under the boy's sneaker. Jacob thought it sounded like an explosion although it could hardly be heard at all. The boy's heart sank and he froze in his tracks. It was too late. “Where have you been boy?”----

Jacob knew that lying was bad. He also knew that if he told the truth it would be bad. Either way, he would be punished---again. He did not want to be bad. He definitely did not want to violate a commandment. He did not know what to do. He started to cry.

About the Author:

Larry is a Catholic/Christian blogger and, besides writing books,  posts diverse, weekly commentary on his blog. His work has appeared in such publications as Zenit from Rome, Aleteia, New Evangelists, Top Catholic Blogs, Big Pulpit, Catholic365.com and others. His first children's picture book, "Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes" was published in 2011. In 2012, his full length novel, "The Priest and the Peaches" was released.  "The Demons of Abadon", his latest novel, was released in early April of 2016. The complete novel (paperback and ebook) is now available.

http://www.slipperywillie.blogspt.com 

The Demons of Abadon    http://amzn.to/1SdW5gS

The Priest and the Peaches    amzn.to/1T2soNh

                             copyright ©Larry Peterson 2016 All Rights Reserved

Why Do Some People Hate God? Because God has Rules

It Makes Sense To Me

By Larry Peterson

How did this principle of ethics and morality based on the Ten Commandments  and  Natural Law somehow become a pariah to so many? Why would anyone want to remove the words, "under God", from the Pledge of Allegiance or the name of God from our coins or government buildings? What has happened in America? How did these principles ever become inverted? God is GOOD, right?  God is LOVE, isn’t HE?

There are many of the self-absorbed who do not agree. They hate God because God has RULES. The primary one is called The Golden Rule. 

In today's self-indulged secular world anyone who might suggest that a particular behavior is "immoral" or "sinful" is branded and vilified as intolerant and uncaring. This progressive slander has climbed the “selfish” ladder reaching as far up as to the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on Earth. How pompous and pride-filled this is.

Fall of the Roman Empire

Only the new age secularists would have the audacity to spin a narrative proclaiming their inverted "virtue" is GOOD and the concept of self-denial is SINFUL. This is the work of fools who have allowed themselves to be dragged down into a world of hedonism. (They may want to look into the history of the collapse and Fall of the Roman Empire).

If any of you remember the comic book version of Superman, on occasion, the “Man of Steel” used to get stuck in Bizarro World, a place where everything was backwards. Up was down and hello meant good-bye. Even the planet, Htrae, (Earth backwards), was shaped like a cube. The world was inverted. It is the same with the insanity of inverted secular virtue. I call this new, hedonistic world where self-gratification and self-indulgence are the rule, "Secularo". The favored rule on Secularo is the "Anchor Rule". It just drags you down and down.

On Secularo killing is "Good" and if you stand against it you are bad. For instance, take abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and partial-birth abortion. The church says NO! On Secularo the Church is now bad. Fornication and people "hooking up" for one-night stands is heralded as "Good". The church says NO and is declared intolerant. Same-sex marriage is honored as a sacred right. On Secularo, if people disagree, they are declared homophobes. Many are convicted of “hate” crimes and incarcerated

Eventually, most of these “problems” cease to exist on Secularo. For example, there is no longer an issue concerning  divorced and remarried Catholics who want to receive the Holy Eucharist.Why? Because there is no church. It has been outlawed as un-Secularistic. It has gone underground and attending Mass can result in imprisonment or even execution (see China). Finally, the existence of these things is removed from all Secularo historical references. The following generation has no clue as to their past.

The pre-cursor to Secularo is our very own Earth. Many today consider the church as intolerant and insensitive and out of touch with the modern world, needing to become part of the 21st century. Homosexuals demand to be married in the Church. The Church says NO!  That marriage is between a man and a woman ONLY. Satan screams from his evil world to his followers,'Say YES! YES! YES!" And there are even some clergy within the church who parrot the “YES! YES! YES!” Bottom line, Secularo World is ruled by hate. Satan is Hate

There are other Christian denominations that have succumbed to outside pressures and reworked their "teachings" to accommodate the demands from future Secularo. They have been praised as "progressive" and "in touch" with the needs of the progressive citizens of their time. Their mission was to save souls for Christ  and guide these souls to their Eternal Reward in heaven.  They have failed in this mission joining the ranks of  those marching down the path to perdition.

 But the Catholic Church has not caved into the demands and pressures of pre-Secularo World. Satan HATES this more than any of us can imagine. That is why the Catholic Church is Satan's immortal enemy.

The Catholic Church still teaches  that there are Seven Deadly Sins. They are pride, greed,  lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth aka laziness. Note the key word in describing these sins is the word "deadly". The Church teaches that these sins can destroy the soul of anyone who might indulge these human appetites. On Secularo, these seven deadly sins are honored and rewarded. Therefore the Church is the enemy of the state. 

On Secularo the church will be mocked and laughed at for suggesting these actions offend God.  The rationale is simple; the act(s) are acceptable because the individual committing one of these sins is just being human and God made us that way and wants us to be "happy". It follows that the acts are NOT sinful. See how inverted one can get. If you subscribe to that concept SATAN wins. But never forget that the church also offers forgiveness for falling prey to these sins and redemption is always a contrite, heartbeat away. Satan hates this more than anything.

It is time to start looking hard at the Bible. And we might start by going to St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 6: 16-17.

In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,

To quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,

which is the word of God.

                     ©Larry Peterson 2016 All Rights Reserved

In the War on Terror: Time to Say "NO" to Political Correctness and "YES" to Prayer

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson

“I asked the Lord, with the help of all my faith, to come to my aid, to come and help us forgive you.”

The quote above comes from an 18 year-old student who lives in Paris. I do not know her name. On the Monday morning after the Friday of Satan, she left class and stopped at a cafe for a cup of coffee. The headline of the newspaper read, Sorrow and Rage. She thought, "What should I do?"

So she wrote this  beautiful letter and I believe her words and actions flowed freely from  the very depths of her God-filled heart. (Please click on the link (letter) and see how God's grace can move a person, any person, to shout His message to the world.)

I also believe she has unintentionally demonstrated to the entire peace-loving world that our most powerful weapon available in the war on terror is prayer. I know we pray for world peace in our churches on Sundays and in our homes, or maybe by ourselves; but this weapon is available to us all. It costs nothing, requires no munitions factories or raw materials, and does not have to be safeguarded or transported carefully. Where weapons of destruction are designed to destroy and obliterate lives prayer has the power to change, transform and convert bad to good and hate to love. Prayer can conquer evil....bombs, bullets and chemicals CANNOT. 

The secular world has been rejecting this most potent weapon as outdated and a relic of the past. It is NOT. This is what we must pull back to the forefront, not randomly or incidentally or alone when we can, but together. We need a unified and all out assault on Satanic fueled terrorism and evil using prayer as the infantry rifle in the hands of every believer all over the world. This is how we can help to crush the serpent's slimy head. This is the answer to peace. Prayer--followed by physical action if necessary.

Leadership for this new D (Demonic)-Day should start with Pope Francis who can instruct the bishops the world over to orchestrate simultaneous prayer events around the planet every day. The Bishops can instruct their parish pastors and priests to gather their flocks together. This prayer assault can be taken up with all Protestants and Jews and even the "nones" who do not recognize any religion. If the secularists object---too bad.

A bit of history relating to the power of prayer. On October 7, 1571, the most significant, crucial and profound naval battle ever fought took place. Known as The Battle of Lepanto, this is the battle that saved the Christian West from an impending defeat by the Ottoman Turks. Vastly outnumberd with ships and men, the victory at Lepanto prevented the Christian world from being taken over by Islam.  So how does prayer fit into the Battle of Lepanto?                                     

Pope St. Pius V had formed what is known as the Holy League, combining  the maritime nations of Europe so as to be able to defend themselves against the Ottoman Turks. Prior to the Battle of Lepanto the Holy Father ordered the rosary to be said throughout Europe. The Pope led a candlelight  rosary procession through Rome the night before the battle. In addition, all the men with the fleet prayed the rosary. The resulting victory was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. To this very day October 7 is celebrated as The Feast of the Most Holy Rosary aka The Feast of Our Lady of Victory.

Unfortunately, most Americans have not even heard of the Battle of Lepanto. The possibility that the West could be under  Islamic rule today was just one day and thousands of prayed rosaries away. It never happened. It seems that some serious prayer might be once again in order. Political correctness be damned--The power of prayer is the key to crushing ISIS, Boko-Haram, Al-Queda, Hezbollah and all the rest of these Satanic fueled barbarians. We ALL need to get busy praying.

                                            ©Larry Peterson 2015 All Right Reserved

The "Shameful Silence"---It Honors Evil

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson                                                         

"Silence in the face of evil is evil itself."   Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran theologian in Germany during the reign of Adolf Hitler.  His book, "The Cost of Discipleship", has become a classic.  Focusing on the "Sermon on the Mount", the book more or less spelled out what Bonhoeffer thought was the true way to follow Christ.  In addition to his theological writings and teaching, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a staunch, anti Nazi dissident.  He spoke out vigorously against Hitler's euthanasia and genocidal persecution of the Jews and, in so doing, became a hated enemy of the Third Reich. As such, he was arrested in April, 1943. Accused of the ambiguous crime of "plotting against the Nazis", he was hanged on April 9, 1945.

                                                                
Moving ahead to the year 2014: The following is a statement from His Grace, Bishop Suriel of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Diocese of  Melbourne from one year ago:

"The world watches in silence as the last Christians are expelled from Mosul, Iraq, in one of the most merciless and barbaric acts of genocide we have seen in the 21st  Century."

We are absolutely fascinating creatures, we humans are.  Many of our species can be so kind and compassionate, loving and gentle, sweet and understanding.  Many people will save a tiny bird with an injured wing or a cat stuck up in a tree. There is a world-wide outrage going on directed at a dentist who killed a lion. There are  so many people who  will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and give drink to the thirsty. One thing about the animal kingdom: the different species are predictable. One thing about we human beings: we are not. 

 You flip the coin and you have many of the very same species who are filled with a self-gratification which culminates in a hate and disdain for others of their own kind.  These include those who will torture and kill their fellow humans because they HATE their:  religion, skin color, birthplace,  political beliefs or whatever other self-serving, hate-filled reason a murderer may come up with.  Many kill and torture saying they were "only following orders" and had no choice. Others kill because of pride fueled by envy and greed. 

Planned Parenthood, a non-profit, government-funded organization, employs people who  perform over 320,000 abortions a year on babies of ALL sizes. They even sell their body parts for profit and say "it is LEGAL". Barely a word is said by many folks who are part of the mainstream media (print & broadcast). The leading Democratic candidate for President of the U.S. says that those reports are "disturbing". Are you kidding me! Disturbing! How about heinous, hateful and/or murderous.  So I ask why? Why the "Shameful Silence" from so many?

 Why are we, all of the same species, so different in our hearts?  How can some of us kill and others forgive them for doing so?   Why do some of us willingly and joyfully give of ourselves for people we may not even know?  Why do some of us hate others they may not even know?  Why are there those who love their fellow human being unconditionally?  And why the "Shameful Silence" from so many? The answer has to be because of the very existence of "Good vs Evil" that is always trying to invade our very souls. Many people fight back and conquer the invader. Many others give in and welcome him and embrace his twisted deception. 

What is "Good vs Evil"?  I can tell you what it is and I do not care if you disagree. It  is the war waged by Satan and those that follow him against the God of Love that created him and all of his followers.  If you take a breath and look at the world of today and then glance back at yesterday and the centuries before, what has changed in the hearts of man? Apparently, not very much. Love and Hatred have danced "toe to toe" since Cain slew his brother Abel.  Why did that happen? Pride and envy. What drives the evil of today? Pride and envy.

God is real and Satan is real. God is the Creator of the Universe and the Master of Goodness and Love.  His most beautiful creation, Satan (aka Lucifer) thought he was greater than God and turned against Him. He was cast from God's presence by those angels that stayed true to their Creator. Filled with an unimaginable hatred for all that is good, Satan and his minions prowl the earth fomenting lies and deception to all who will listen. He and his fallen angels have used their cunning to gain entrance into the hearts of those who, before all else, love themselves. These are the easy prey for the king of deceit. And, there is a gaggle of easy prey available, especially in today's secularly charged world dominated by 'meism'. 

Mosul,  the very cradle of Christianity, can trace the followers of Jesus back to the first century.  As of today it seems that the entire Christian population of Mosul has been purged from this ancient and historic city.  Murder, including the beheadings of civilians and the wanton murder of women and children, has virtually eradicated the city's Christians.  And what did we see and hear from the print and broadcast media a year ago?  We heard the sound of almost nothing. What do we hear today about the atrocities of killing pre-born babies and selling their body parts under the guise of "saving lives"?  We hear the sound of almost nothing. A "Shameful  Silence" from many seems to reverberate throughout the world when persecution is running rampant.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it, "Silence in the face of evil is evil itself."  He was hanged by the Nazis for his "crimes" over 70 years ago.  What has changed? The press was quiet then as the Nazis purged the world of the "hated Jew".  Most of the mainstream media (print and broadcast) has been quiet as the Islamists purge the world of the "hated Christian".  There are many people in the United States of America, who go to work every day and kill living babies in utero and sell their body parts and have no problem whatsoever doing it because, as the Nazi workers said so many years ago, "it was legal". 

Josef Goebbels was the propaganda minister for Adolf Hitler and made sure the press and broadcast media kept news of the Nazi Final Solution quiet. There existed a Shameful Silence. That Shameful Silence among many is apparently alive and well in 2015, right here in the USA. Nothing has changed, nothing at all. 

                                               ©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved

The Latest Craze--Calling on Satan to "Come Out & Play"

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson

Satan is the Great Impostor, the King of Lies, the Master of all Hate. He was God's greatest angel and decided that he was even better than God. So, the "created" tried to overwhelm the Creator. Having made this choice he and his followers were  cast out of God's world for all eternity. We mortal beings cannot even imagine the hate that fills these fallen spirits. Their hate is so great and pervasive because there can never be redemption for them. Consequently, they prowl around the world seeking new recruits to join them in their misery. They may have hit the "motherload" via the Internet.

The latest Internet game filling the cyber environment is called the "Charlie Charlie Challenge". A game that is being promoted as innocent has, as its objective, the goal of summoning the devil. Here is what I cannot fathom. In a world gone secular and trying to eliminate God from our existence why are thousands upon thousands of people, especially young people, trying to conjure up a confrontation with Satan himself? Many want to reject God and His Goodness and Love...yet are willing to call on Satan to have a "good time".

How bizarre is this? Satan (aka the Devil) is the opposite of GOOD. He is HATE . All that is UNgood comes from Satan.  There could never be a Satan without a God who created him in the first place. Yet people want to summon him up and talk to him, while at the same time claiming there is no God or that God is irrelevant in their lives. It DOES Not Make sense To Me.

The "Charlie Charlie Challenge" apparently came from the game being played in the Dominican Republic and then uploaded to YouTube.  April 29 is when it began and it spread to Twitter. Today it has gone viral. The two pencil game involves drawing a grid on a piece of paper with two sections labeled "yes" and two sections labeled "no". One pencil is balanced on top of the other pencil and then questions are asked; such as, "Charlie, are you here?" If he is "there" the pencil will move to the "yes" section. The main question then asked is "Can we play?" The fact that the slightest environmental change can cause the pencil on top to move is completely ignored.
The Charlie Charlie Challenge is a phenomena that is readily explainable.

There are two kinds of pride: negative and positive. Positive pride has to do with such things as being proud of your family or being proud of an accomplishment worked for and earned through personal hard work and sacrifice. Negative pride is all about self. If a person places their wants and perceived needs above all else and will attempt anything to satisfy those needs, that is when Pride becomes the greatest sin.

This "Charlie Charlie Challenge" is simply a reflection of how ridiculously self-serving so many have become in this meistic secularized society. It is Pride gone rogue. First,reject God and bash religion. The follow that and embrace God's first creations, who are Satan, and his fallen angels. Play games with them, have fun with them, and see where it gets you. There is an old adage that says, "The devil you get might be worse than the one that you have".

So PLEASE--be careful what you ask for. Where the "Charlie Charlie Challenge" takes you can prove damning. But it is never too late. Unlike the demons you have been hanging with, you are still eligible for God's mercy and forgiveness. It is only too late after you die. It is time to kick the "Charlie Charlie Challenge" back into the Hell it came from lest you get dragged in with it.

                                   ©Larry Peterson 2015 All Rights Reserved

Pride~The Common Denominator in All Things Evil

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson


"There is a danger that threatens everyone in the church, all of us. The danger of worldliness. It leads us to vanity, arrogance and pride."
Pope Francis

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The headlines and newscasts are filled with the news of President Obama's outrage over House Speaker John Boehner's invitation to Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to speak before the United States Congress in March. Apparently a protocol was violated and the Speaker did not inform the White House. 

So why is the President of the United States so angry over this supposedly unprecedented invitation to a foreign leader by the Congress? Who cares, right? WRONG? He was offended. Protocol was the excuse for his anger. The primary cause was "ego". His ego was sand-blasted into disarray when he was ignored by a person who is NOT the "Big Cheese". In other words, President Obama's pride was deflated. Ah yes, that old 'demon' pride has once again reared its ignominious and ugly head. He sure knows how to spoil a salad. If protocol was stepped upon it still is no reason to get so angry. But stepping on the pride of someone, anyone, oftentimes yields this result.

Pope Francis' quote above uses the words, "threatens everyone in the church, all of us". He is referring to the Pride  that is part of all of us. There is "positive pride" which refers to taking pride in your  work, your appearance, how hard you study, how you treat others etc. Then there is "negative pride" which has been the downfall of so many. This is all about self-gratification and taking care of  your favorite and most revered son/daughter of  worldliness aka secularism, good old "#1", yourself. This never reaps a fruitful harvest.

This "negative pride" has permeated every nook and cranny of humankind since the days of Adam and Eve. Satan aka Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness, used his main weapon to draw Eve into his realm. He used pride to tempt her. Consumed with her inner vanity she was easy pickings for Satan. "Eat the apple (yes, the apple is probably symbolic) and you will be like God."  

Eve wanted to be like God and her Pride pushed her teeth into that apple and she bit, She turned it over to her man, Adam. Misery loves company and she was probably not feeling very well after that first swallow. Adam bit  into the other half of the apple. VOILA--Original sin and its primary effect, Pride, have been at the forefront of all chaos ever since.  

The untold and undocumented cause of countless cases of pain and suffering caused by Pride over the centuries cover the pages of history. Wars, genocide, torture, scorched-earth policies continue to this very day.  Countless friendships have been permanently severed and how many families have been torn apart?  All because Satan is able to wield his greatest tool, Pride, unchecked and freely. All because so many people willingly grab onto it and refuse to let go.

This incident is fresh in my mind so I would like to share. I was talking to a close friend of mine the other day and he had just finished talking to his younger brother on the phone. The brother told him that Catholics can eat meat on Fridays during Lent. My friend told him he was wrong. They got into an argument and my friend hung up on his brother. He told me he is not calling him back until he apologizes. I reminded him that he was the one who "hung up". He did not care because his brother started it.

These two had not spoken in almost ten years and finally got back together and now---oh man, are you kidding me? And they will both go to Mass and Communion in their respective cities and pound their breasts and bow their heads and be totally oblivious to the two greatest commandments of Loving God and Loving their Neighbor that they are breaking. 

Ah, the great sin of Pride. We have all seen the results up close and personal within our own worlds. Just like my friend and his brother we may be a prisoner of Pride's deadly grip on ourselves. Parents estranged from children, siblings estranged from each other, families torn apart. The common denominator is always Pride. But the good news is there is an antidote. It is called Humility. St. Augustine said, "It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels."

 Here is the link to the Litany of Humility. Truly, this prayer is a powerful weapon. It also takes courage to say it. This is how it begins:

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me. 

From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus

                                                          Copyright 2015 Larry Peterson

"Peace on Earth" Humility is the Key and the Christ Child is the Answer

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

Peace on earth? Where is it? Is it in Syria? How about Pakistan? It is not in Sudan or Iraq. It is definitely not hanging out in Afghanistan or Iran. Pakistan?—God help us. How about Russia and Ukraine and Ferguson, Missouri? What does "Peace on Earth" mean? Well my friends, it means exactly what it says: PEACE on EARTH. However, has there ever been Peace on Earth? From the beginning of the human race until today, I think not. We might ask, “and why not?”

The answer is actually simple and straightforward. True Peace on Earth can only come about by the destruction of the great demon, Pride. Yes, Pride destroys Peace. It also destroys love between people, within families, among friends and co-workers. How often does Pride bring forth its seedy companions of wrath and envy? Pride prompts murder and mayhem and wars. It has done so from time immemorial. It is probably the most destructive force on the planet and we all have it within us. How can so many of our species conquer this malignant force while others succumb to its devilish grasp? The answer is some people have what is called Humility.

How do we find our Humility? How can we kick the power of Pride to the curb? The answer came to us in the form of a newborn baby on Christmas and we celebrate that day in one week. Humility exploded on Christmas Day.  God Himself, the Creator of all that we have, including free-will, came to us and lived with us. Hey folks, this act was HUMILITY SUPREME. All we have to do is look into a pile  of straw at a newborn baby.  Therein lies our answer to finding Humility.

This story is so amazing that our simple common sense will tell us it was never fabricated or made up. The most creative writers who ever lived could not have conjured up such a preposterous tale. Imagine, a King being born in a smelly, dirty, animal stall to a simple teenage girl whose husband was a struggling carpenter with no money. Then the couple have to take the baby King and run for their lives because the reigning king, Herod, feared the baby might grow up and overthrow him. His Pride seizes him so he sends his soldiers to kill the baby King. They kill hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent children in their heinous bloodletting yet never find the child they were looking for to begin with. 

As preposterous as this story may seem, more than two thousand years later more than two billion people still believe it. For over two millenium this belief has continued to transform the world. Millions upon millions of us will celebrate this miraculous birth a week from now. How can that be? 

It is due to that great intangible we call FAITH. You can't see it, you can't touch it and you cannot smell it. However, if you open yourself up to it, it can grab you in a life-long embrace that might take your breath away. Faith in God and all He has done is the greatest of all the gifts we will ever receive. It spawns kindness, and temperance and patience. And Faith breeds Humility. Humility will lead to love, true love of others, not ourselves. This is fact.

Peace without love is an illusion. It cannot exist. It can never come from our own agenda. That is because the deadly toxin, Pride, is inside us and Satan prowls the world dripping his venom into our hearts using Pride as the gateway “drug”. Many of us reject his “empty promises”. Many do not and their egos are commandeered so easily that they sometimes explode with hatred. 

This hatred is quite visible throughout the world today. Christianity is actually on the verge of being wiped out of the Middle East as Christians are being killed and tortured every day simply because they believe in this baby and who He grew up to be. The Good News is we have been given the antidote. It is Humility.

Our greatest of all gifts, FAITH, allows us to believe that God, the Creator of all that is, shared Himself with us through  His Son. To accomplish this He  humbled Himself in the most profound act of selflessness that was and will ever be. This was God become man for us. He came as a helpless, innocent newborn, barely able to grasp the finger of his Mom. He allowed himself to be born surrounded by the squalor and filth of a stable. Poor shepherds from the hillside were His first visitors. Humility lay in a pile of straw and looked up into the beautiful face of His weary Mom.

A few small pot fires provided enough light for the man of the family, Joseph, to see the two people that he had to care for and protect. No bells were ringing, no trumpets were blaring and no cymbals were smashing. The deafening quiet made this the greatest of Silent Nights.  Thirty-three years later, booming thunder would echo His death and three days after that brilliant sunshine would announce our redemption. It is the most beautiful of all truths.

FAITH is a gift that many people have seen fit to grab onto. They have responded to God's graces and listened. They have grabbed the 'brass ring'. There are many more who cannot escape the all-consuming Pride that keeps telling them they are so much smarter than all those 'believers'. 

How sad this is because this Pride is Satan’s portal that will allow him to take them on a road that leads to complete misery dominated by an all-consuming hatred of anything that is Good. If only they would reach out and allow that little hand to squeeze their finger, just for a moment. It will not hurt one bit and they might find out that respecting and honoring Humility can do a person wonders. It could even lead to Peace on Earth.

During this Christmas Season let us all consider asking  for an extra dose of Humility and then pray for Peace on Earth and that Good Will be in ALL people, everywhere. 

                                              

                                   Copyright Larry Peterson 2014 

The Catholic Church; The Foremost Enemy of Satanic Driven Virtue

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

The United States of America is the only nation in history to have used the Judeo-Christian Principle  as the lynchpin for the nation's development and growth. So, what happened? How did this principle seemingly get tossed into the dumpster of the outdated and irrelevant? How did this principle of ethics and morality based on the Ten Commandments and the "Golden Rule" somehow become a pariah to so many? Why would anyone want to remove the words, "under God", from the Pledge of Allegiance or the name of God from our coins or government buildings? What is going on? How did these principles ever become inverted?

It is, in my opinion, all biblical. And why not? We started out as a nation using the Bible as our cornerstone. Isn't it fitting that those opposed to us would try to destroy that very stone? Of course it is. But there is one critical aspect that drives this onslaught and I think we do not pay close enough attention to it. Neither do the ones committing the onslaught. Those that are flailing away at our religious heritage and freedoms are not committing these attacks on their own. They have a brilliant, diabolical, hate-consumed leader inspiring them onward. Their leader's name is Satan. And Satan's biggest and most hated enemy is the church that Jesus Christ founded, the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church was founded by Christ 2000 years ago. The Church is His "bride". We are all part of the Catholic family. (The word Catholic means 'universal' so it is for everyone--if they so choose). And the reason Satan hates Christ's church so much is because it still spits in his evil eye and says NO! It still has rules. It has standards that have been in place for two thousand years. It still has the "nerve and audacity" to use the words, SIN and MORALITY.  In today's self-indulged secular world anything or anyone that might suggest that a particular behavior is "immoral" or "sinful" is branded and vilified as intolerant and uncaring. How pompous and pride filled this is. Only the new age secularists would have the audacity to suggest that their inverted "virtue" is GOOD and the concept of self-denial is SINFUL.

Our old comic book friend, Superman, on occasion used to get stuck in "Bizarro World", a place where everything was backwards. Up was down and hello meant good-bye. Even the planet, Htrae, (Earth backwards), was shaped like a cube. The world was inverted. It is the same with the insanity of inverted secular virtue. I call this world "Secularro".

On Secularro killing is "Good" and if you stand against it you are bad. For instance, take abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and partial-birth abortion. The church says NO! On Secularro the Church is now bad. Fornication and people "hooking up" for one-night stands is heralded as "Good". The church says NO!  On Secularro the church is told to mind its own business. Divorced and remarried Catholics want to receive the Holy Eucharist. The church says NO! (This is nothing new) . On Secularro the church is intolerant and insensitive and is out of touch with the modern world and needs to get into the 21st century. Homosexuals demand to be married in the Church. The Church says NO!  Marriage is between a man and a woman ONLY. Satan screams from his evil world to his followers,'Say YES! YES! YES!"

On Secularro the inverted unwittingly listen to him and pound on the dogmatic doors of the Catholic Church demanding that they be opened to personal wants and desires. Unlike Bizarro World where things are just 'crazy' on Secularro World things are mean and vindictive. Secularro World is ruled by hate. Satan is Hate.

There are other Christian denominations that have succumbed to outside pressures and reworked their "teachings" to accommodate the demands from Secularro. They have been praised as "progressive" and "in touch" with the needs of the citizens of Secularro.  Their mission is to save souls for Christ  and guide these souls to their Eternal Reward in heaven.  They have failed in this mission. But the Catholic Church has not caved into the demands and pressures of Secularro World. Satan HATES this more than any of us can imagine. That is why the Catholic Church is Satan's (im)mortal enemy.

The Catholic Church still teaches  that there are Seven Deadly Sins. They are pride, greed,  lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth aka laziness. Note the key word in describing these sins is the word "deadly". The Church teaches that these sins can destroy the soul of anyone who might indulge these human appetites. The church also offers forgiveness for falling prey to these sins. On Secularro the church is mocked and laughed at for suggesting these actions offend God.  These acts are acceptable because the individual committing one of these sins is just being human  and God made us that way and wants us to be "happy". So--sin away. How inverted can one get. If you subscribe to that concept SATAN wins.

It is time to start looking hard at the Bible. And we might start by going to St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 6: 16-17.

In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,

To quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,

which is the word of God.

Hating the Truth of the Real Presence of Christ, Satanists Perform a 'black mass'

IT  MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

Praise the Lord (TRULY).  The 'black mass' abomination in Oklahoma City (with its huge congregation of 42 people) is finally over. The Satanic lovers of the "darkness" have had their day.  I hope they are fulfilled with whatever redeeming spiritual blackness their boss can deliver into their misguided, hate filled, anti-God hearts.

I wrote about this shameful event back on August 8. The mock "mass" that these Satan lovers were going to enact was reprehensible enough. But what nagged at me like an unscratchable itch was the fact that these Catholic haters seemed to understand the Holy Eucharist and what it actually was better than many "cafeteria" Catholics (those who pick & choose doctrine they accept). Statistics say that 48% of "Catholics" do not accept the Real Presence  ( a blog for another day). Yet here are Satanists obviously accepting this profound Dogma of Catholicism.  They must realize the  truth of this Dogma or why would they  revel in hating and defiling it? There would be no point.

So, why do Satanists want to desecrate a host consecrated at a Catholic Mass? They are definitely not interested in a host from another Christian service. Is their callous faithlessness filled with an abiding TRUTH that they cannot stand because of their pride and ego?  Is the magnificent reality of the Eucharistic Sacrifice offered at the Mass what drives them to gather together to defile, mock and denigrate this mystery? Is this why Adam Daniels, the Satanist in charge of this debasement, tells us they will denounce Jesus Christ, stomp and spit on the host they are using and even urinate on it. How can they hate something so much? I think I know why.

I have come to the realization that they have the truth in their hearts and down deep inside they know what that truth is. Unfortunately for them, the greatest of the Seven Deadly Sins,  PRIDE, has embraced them all in a bear-hug of self-centeredness, a hold that they choose not to break free from.  Therefore, it follows, down deep inside they also hate themselves. This is very sad.

They hate so much because Satan himself is hate and they are filled with his venom. They do not understand that Satan hates them too. He hates them because they can still obtain redemption. God is love and that love is pure Goodness. Any of these human followers of Satan still have an opportunity to ask God for His forgiveness. If they do, God will embrace them and welcome them home. They can perform these heinous acts against Christ and still have a chance for redemption. They can change their minds and have this opportunity up until death takes them.

Satan, as the greatest of all angels, had his chance and blew it. He turned against God and was cast from heaven with his pride-filled followers. His Pride cost him to lose total Hope. Filled with hate he and those that followed him prowl around the world seeking the ruin of souls, a task at which they have been extremely successful. Ironically, Satan hates his human followers more than they can imagine. That is because he has no fear or respect for any of them. More than anything, he knows they can still find redemption if they so decide. That drives him crazy because a) he knows he is so much better than them; and b) redemption can NEVER be his. Bring on the eternal envy.

Each and every one of us has a life long, personal war we must wage within ourselves. That war's two main enemies are Pride and HUMILITY.  These two entities are part of us and they pit us against ourselves throughout our entire lives. Pride has torn apart families, destroyed friendships, fomented resentment and  bitterness, incited fury and outrage, and even led to war and murder and something called a 'black mass'.

The antidote to Pride is Humility. For many that is too hard a pill to swallow. How many of us have heard words or even used words like:
"I'm NOT apologizing to him."  or  
"She was RUDE to me. I'm never talking to her again."  or
"I'm not going to confession and telling my sins to another person."  or
"She's SO stuck up. I can't stand her."
Death, destruction, and mayhem are the result of pride. It certainly can be a terrible thing. Jesus, dying on the cross, forgave His executioners and all of us too. Therein is the greatest lesson in Humility ever given.

 The war within each of us will continue until our deaths. Many times it is a hard fought struggle but many of us win these ongoing battles. Having the Love of God in your life combined with prayer are  the greatest weapons against this deadly sin of pride. Sadly, many surrender to the Great Impostor, Satan, and his lies and false promises of worldly pleasure.  For all of those folks let the rest of us keep praying for them. And that includes the Oklahoma City Satanists.

Salem Matti Kourk: Hated and Murdered by ISIS; Loved by God and God's Mom

IT  MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

I guess there is nothing like the  shocking beheading of a live, innocent, helpless person by gutless, yellow-bellied devil lovers dressed in black pajamas to garner world attention.  The high-profile, barbaric murders of James Foley and Steven Sotloff  have done just that.  Their murders have been emblazoned across the print headlines and media air waves giving Satan's favorite "crew", ISIS, the publicity it sought.

James Foley and Steven Sotloff have been introduced to all of us as individuals.  We saw their photos, we learned about their background and their families.  They could have been any one of us.  It became personal for us and we can feel some of the horror and pain these young men must have felt as death approached them.  Yet so many thousands have been murdered in this modern day genocide. We recoil at the numbers but the individuality of all those executed evades us. The Holocaust claiming six million Jews is not the same as hearing the story of Anne Frank or Maximilian Kolbe.

Anne was a youngster we could relate to because, like all of us, she had a name, a family, siblings, a home, ambitions and desires.  Plus, she left behind that most famous diary.  We can identify with her because she was not just a statistic, she was a real person, the same as James Foley and Steven Sotloff.   Maximilian Kolbe was a Catholic priest who offered his own life so that  a Jewish husband and father might live.  His request was granted and the Nazis starved him to death. We can be inspired by the courage and selflessness of such individual acts of brotherly love.  Maximilian Kolbe was canonized a saint  on October 10, 1982 by Pope John Paul II.  And only last April, Father Frans Van der Lugt, a Catholic priest who had worked in Syria for 50 years, was dragged from his church by agents of ISIS.  They beat him unmercifully and then shot him in the head twice.  Father Van der Lugt was 75 years old.  Three died because of their love of God and two died because they were Americans.

There are so many thousands that have been brutally executed by the ISIS maniacs. So many whose names we shall never know or hear.  So many who were brutally tortured and murdered because of their Christian faith.  So here is one of those with a name, a person we can identify with.  He was not famous or well known.  He was, for the most part, just like the rest of us, unknown.  His name was Salem Matti Kourk.  He was 43 years old and was an Orthodox Christian.

In early August, the Islamist State "Christian haters", aka ISIS or ISIL,  had taken control of Mosul,  the second largest city in Iraq.  Thirteen miles east of Mosul is the town of Bartella.  ISIS had also secured that town.  We  are well aware of how Mosul, the oldest Christian city in the world, has been overrun and how the city's ancient churches were destroyed while almost the entire Christian population had either fled or been killed.  Over in Bartella similar atrocities were taking place.  Salem Matti Kourk, a Syrian Christian, had a heart condition.  He could not flee with his family and friends because of his disability.  So they stockpiled food and drink and other supplies for him and he remained behind, hiding out in an abandoned apartment.  The days came and went.

Three weeks later the food and water had run out.  Salem became a bit desperate and eventually decided to leave his hiding place in search of food and water.  Sick and weakened, he did not get far.  ISIS "swine" discovered him near the Church of the Virgin Mary.  They demanded he renounce Christianity and accept Islam.  They screamed at him and kicked him and bludgeoned him with clubs and rifle butts. The kept at it until Salem's battered body could not withstand anymore.

Salem gave up his spirit and his body rolled over dead.   The Satan "lovers" left him in front of the church and walked away laughing.  Salem Matti Kourk had died a martyr's death.  He was alone, terrified, and surrounded by thugs that hated him.  Yet, through it all,  he refused to renounce his belief in Jesus.  But maybe, just maybe, he was not alone.

I like to think that being in front of the Church of the Virgin Mary, our dearest Mother stood nearby waiting for him.  I like to think he saw her waiting.  I have a profound feeling Salem walked away from that place with his Mother's arm around his shoulder.  I can see her leaning over and kissing his battered forehead.  Salem was smiling.  He will smile for all eternity.

SATAN: the Supreme Commander of ISIS

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

At 12:30 p.m. on August 31, 1939, Adolf Hitler made a decision.  He issued the order that was to plunge the entire world into its bloodiest war ever:  This is the order that started World War II

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE

ARMED FORCES
MOST SECRET

Berlin, August 31, 1939: Directive No.1 for the Conduct of the War;

1) Now that all the political possibilities of disposing by peaceful

means of a situation which is intolerable for Germany are exhausted, I

have determined on a solution by force.

2) The attack on Poland is to be carried out;

Date of attack: September 1, 1939.

Time of attack:  4:45 a.m. *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The order was signed by Hitler and for the next six years the world would experience an unimaginable evil  that would cause such brutality, carnage and death it gave a complete new meaning to a heretofore biblical word.  That word was Holocaust.  (I view the words Holocaust and Genocide as synonyms.)

During the 20th century Genocide(s) claimed the lives of tens of millions of people.  Joseph Stalin, the brutal Soviet dictator and our "ally" during World War II, probably killed more people than Hitler and his primary means of execution was starvation.  Yup, "old Joe" was quite the guy.  Between 1932 and 1933 alone, Stalin actually starved over 7,000,000 of his OWN people to death.  By the time he died he had killed 25,000,000 people.  Now we are in the 21st century. What has changed?   Genocide continues in the most brutal fashion.  From North Korea to the Middle East to the African continent, genocide is claiming the lives of men , women and children by the thousands.  And God help us all,  most of the current human butchery is done under the banner of virtue:  "Praise Allah".   How sick and evil is that?

I just used the word evil.  When I use that word I am not simply referring to something morally wrong or harmful or basically wicked.  When I use the word evil I am referencing Satan, the devil himself.  He is known by other names such as Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Leviathan, etc.  I must be clear so make no mistake; I believe (as do millions more) that Satan does exist and that he is spreading his unending and incomparable vitriolic hatred all over the world.  He is also cunning enough to use modern day communication techniques to advertise his  demonocity.

I write under the masthead of  IT MAKES SENSE TO ME.   It follows that what I write does, in fact, "make sense to me".  I am a Catholic man and my faith is part of my very being.  Much of that faith is reinforced by what is called  Natural Law.  Natural Law is part of who we are.  It is (in my opinion) part of our genetic makeup.  It cannot be seen or touched or examined under a microscope.  It cannot even be proven.  However, "common sense" tells us it does exist.

Natural Law is what we all, as human beings, know to be right or wrong.  Some of us call it "our conscience".  An example of Natural Law at work is when a mother asks her small child, "Did you eat that cookie I left out for your sister?"  The child, with crumbs and chocolate on her face answers, "No, mommy."  She knew it was wrong  to take that cookie so she made a choice.  She used her "free will".  She answered , "No".  That is Natural Law at work.

Angels are God's creations just as people are.  The bible references angels in many places.  It also references the evil angels.  These are the angels that, upon the moment of their creation, were so filled with their beauty and grandeur, that they decided they were greater than God Himself.  In that moment they lost everything.  Every last ounce of hope that might have been was gone forever.  Unlike mankind, who lives and has many chances, in the angelic world, this could not be.  Filled with an unimaginable hatred and loathing and unable to attack God and the Good Angels, Satan and his followers have focused on the ones with free will, the ones filled with pride and envy, the human race.

Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein and Pol Pot are high profile followers of Satan.  But there are countless millions more who these demons  have been able to recruit and induct into their evil army.  Just the other day we all saw one of Satan's followers  behead James Foley, an American journalist.  For full effect the grizzly execution was performed on camera, for all the world to see, including the Foley family.

How evil is this angel known as Satan?  How evil are the angels that followed him into hell?  The depths of their  hatred for God and all that is Good is incomprehensible.  These creatures were the brightest and the highest among all  others.  Now they are lower than  the lowest sinner because even that sinner still has hope for redemption.  The "fallen angels",  filled with their own enormous pride and bursting with envy, are silently screeching and wailing as they skulk around the world seeking new followers.  Sadly, they have been very successful.

One of Satan's greatest pupils had great success early on in his morbid career.  His name was Adolf Hitler.  He destroyed  millions.  In the end he and his followers were relegated to the ash heap of history.  ISIS and all those that are following Satan will suffer the same fate.  The cost might be very high but they can never ever win their ignominious war against God.  And that is exactly what they are waging, a war against God.

By the way, the greatest weapon at our disposal in this war is PRAYER.  Here is one written by Pope Leo XIII back in 1884. The Holy Father's purpose back then was to combat the "father of lies".

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the Divine Power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

 *"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" (abridged edition) by William Shirer  pg 117

Evil Infects All of History: James Foley was Murdered because He Represented Goodness

IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

The brutal murder of journalist, James Foley, had nothing to do with James Foley.  It had to do with the fact that the man represented Goodness.  Satan, in complete charge of his conquered souls, has had them inflicting horror and terror and barbaric acts of murder and cruelty on, not only men, but on women and children as well.  This evil has been with us since time immemorial.  Let us travel back a mere 71 years and meet a sweet and kindly lady by the name of Sister Maria Restituta.

May 1, 1894, was a happy day for Anton and Marie Kafka.  Marie had just given birth to her sixth child and mom and her daughter were doing fine.  The proud parents named their new baby, Helena.  Devout Catholics, Anton and Marie had Helena baptized  into the faith thirteen days later at the parish of The Church of the Assumption, in the town oh Husovice in Austria.   Due to financial circumstances, Anton was forced to move his family to the big city of Vienna.  Helena was barely two and she and her siblings would remain in Vienna where they would all grow up.

Helena was a good student and worked hard.  She received her First Holy Communion in May of 1905 in St. Brigitta Church and was confirmed in the same church one year later.  After eight years of school she spent another year in housekeeping  school and by the age of 15 was working as a servant, a cook and learning to be a nurse.  She became an assistant nurse at Lainz City Hospital in 1913.  This was when Helena  first had contact with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity.  She immediately felt the call to become a Sister herself.  On April 25, 1914, Helena Kafka, joined the Franciscan Sisters and on October 23, 1915, she became Sister Maria Restituta.  One year later she made her final vows and began working solely as a nurse.

Blessed Maria Restituta

When World War I  ended, Sister Maria  was lead surgical nurse at Modling Hospital in Vienna.  She and all other Austrians had never heard of Adolf Hitler and could never have imagined that one day their beloved nation would be annexed into the German Republic because of this man.  On March 12, 1938, a successful coup d'etat by the Austrian Nazi party took place and the Nazis, under the now feared, Adolf Hitler, took control of the once proud Austrian nation.  Things would never be the same.

Sister Restituta was very outspoken in her opposition to the Nazi regime. When a new wing to the hospital was built Sister hung a Crucifix in each of the new bedrooms.  The Nazis demanded that they be removed telling Sister Maria that she would be dismissed if she did not comply.  She adamantly refused and the Crucifixes remained on the walls.  One of the doctors on staff, himself a fanatical Nazi, would have  none of it.  He denounced her to the Nazi Party and, on Ash Wednesday,  1942, she was arrested by the Gestapo as she exited the operating room.  The "charges" against her included   "hanging crucifixes and writing a poem that mocked Hitler".

Sister Maria Restituta, the former Helena Kafka, loved her Catholic faith and, filled with the Holy Spirit, wanted to do nothing more than to serve the sick.  The Nazis promptly sentenced her to death by guillotine for "favouring the enemy and conspiracy to commit high treason".  The Nazis offered her freedom if she would abandon the Franciscans she loved so much.  She refused.

An appeal for clemency went as far as the desk of Martin Bormann, Hitler's personal secretary and Nazi Party Chancellor.  His response was that her execution "would provide effective intimidation for others who might want to resist the Nazis".  Sister Maria Restituta spent her final days in prison caring for the sick.  Because of her love of the Crucifix and for the Person who was nailed to it and died hanging on it,  Sister Maria was sent to the guillotine and was beheaded on March 30, 1943.  She was 48 years old.

Pope John Paul II visited Vienna on June 21, 1998.  That was the day that Helena Kafka, the girl who started off in housekeeping school and became a servant and then went on to be a nurse in the Franciscan Sisters of Charity, was beatified by the Pope and became Blessed Maria Restituta. She had learned how to serve extremely well, always serving others before herself.

Let us ask Blessed Maria that she pray for the repose of the soul of James Foley who was murdered by the forces of evil because he, too, represented Goodness.  We ask her to remember his family and friends as they deal with this terrible abomination done to their loved one.  We also ask Blessed Maria and all the saints to pray for us all.