Wake Up Christians! The Truth Is About To Become Illegal!

This was sent to me in an email by a reader who is obviously well informed on the truth of the gay agenda. This thing is NOT about equal rights or health care benefits. This is about cornering Christianity and Catholicism in particular and making it illegal for us to teach the truth.

If you ask me, this is Satan's counter attack against JPII's theology of the body. I truly believe that the theology of the body is the answer to everything that has corrupted society. If we do not stand up and do everything possible to protect our rights to teach and live the truth, we will soon find ourselves having to stand up against our own country in order to do so.

This country is going to fall from within and the arch enemy of our society is the forces of hell masquerading as "tolerance."


(reprinted from ZENIT.org)

Respect Is a Two-Way Street
Christians Suffer for Opposing Homosexuality
By Father John Flynn, LC ROME, MAY 31, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The issue of legalizing same-sex marriages continues to be at the forefront of debate. On Tuesday the Californian Supreme Court upheld a referendum, Proposition 8, which modified the state constitution to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples.

The referendum invalidated a previous decision by the state's Supreme Court that resulted in the legalization of same-sex marriage.In the weeks preceding the latest decision same-sex marriage was legalized in three states. As a result, five states now allow such marriages -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa.

As a May 27 article in the Washington Post pointed out, four of these states are in the Northeast and the exception, Iowa, saw legalization introduced through a state Supreme Court decision and not a legislative vote.

An important element in the debates over the issue has been that of religious freedom. In a May 23 New York Times column, Peter Steinfels commented that a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage had stalled in New Hampshire due to state governor John Lynch insisting that he would only sign the bill if it had stronger guarantees to protect religious institutions. This was rejected by the bill's backers in the House of Representatives.New Hampshire's experience could well influence debates in other states, such as New York, Steinfels observed.Religious freedom

How much of a threat to religious freedom is the introduction of same-sex marriage? A recent consideration of the matter came in a question and answer forum sponsored by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

In the transcript, published May 21, professors Robert W. Tuttle and Ira "Chip" Lupu of The George Washington University Law School discussed the possible conflicts. Opponents of same-sex marriage, they noted, are concerned that preaching against homosexuality in sermons could become a criminal offense.Other concerns involve religious institutions, such as hospitals and universities, who fear they may be obliged to provide the same benefits to same-sex couples as they currently do for heterosexual spouses.This is not just a theoretical consideration, the two professors added. In 2006, Catholic Charities in Massachusetts had to stop its adoption service as state anti-discrimination laws were changed, making it obligatory for agencies to offer children for adoption by same-sex couples.

Another area of concern involves private businesses and individuals who have religious objections to same-sex marriage. This could involve those who provide services for weddings or rent out residential accommodation.

In their commentary the professors admitted that the legal situation of such religious objections is largely untested. Court battles so far have mainly centered on the question of whether states should recognize same-sex marriage.

Protection needed

So far religious objectors have not fared well in court decisions, according to an April 10 article published by the Washington Post. Among the examples cited were the following

-- A Christian photographer was forced by the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission to pay $6,637 in attorney's costs after she refused to photograph a same-sex couple's commitment ceremony.

-- A psychologist in Georgia was fired after she declined for religious reasons to counsel a lesbian about her relationship.

-- Christian fertility doctors in California who refused to artificially inseminate a lesbian patient were barred by the state Supreme Court from invoking their religious beliefs in refusing treatment.

-- A Christian student group was not recognized at a University of California law school because it denies membership to anyone practicing sex outside of traditional marriage.

-- An online dating site, eHarmony, established by an evangelical Christian, Neil Clark Warren, agreed to provide services to homosexuals as part of the settlement of a complaint by a New Jersey man, who accused it of discrimination. An opinion article published May 3 in the Los Angeles Times called for greater legal protection for those objecting on religious grounds to same-sex marriage. Robin Wilson, a professor of law at Washington and Lee University School of Law, argued that so far no state has provided sufficient guarantees of religious liberty when legalizing same-sex marriage. Wilson conceded that legislation in Connecticut and Vermont did contain provisions for conscience objection, but the bills still do not provide sufficient protection for people such as wedding advisors, caterers, and photographers."Because of those laws, many people could have to choose between conscience and livelihood," said Wilson.

Employment conflicts

Britain has also seen numerous conflicts and legal battles over this matter. Recently churches expressed fears that new anti-discrimination laws will oblige them to accept job applications made by homosexuals, reported the Telegraph newspaper, May 20.

The legislation will come into force next year, but until recently churches had hoped for an exemption. This expectation was dashed when at a recent conference Maria Eagle, the deputy equalities minister, said the law will cover almost all church employees."The circumstances in which religious institutions can practice anything less than full equality are few and far between," she said, according to the Telegraph.

The Equality Bill, still to be finally approved by parliament, gives a narrow interpretation to the roles from which it is possible to exclude homosexuals on the basis of religious objections. It would be limited only to those who lead liturgy or spend most of their time teaching doctrine.Christians who object to homosexuality are also increasingly coming under fire in Britain. Such people were described as "retarded homophobes" by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, a state-funded agency, the Daily Mail newspaper reported, May 14.The agency sets rules and organizes training for social workers across the country, according to the article.The description of "retarded homophobes" was published in an official guide to adoption for homosexual couples published by the agency.The Daily Mail quoted Patricia Morgan, author of a study of gay adoption, who said: "It is disgraceful that they do not wish to discuss the pros and cons of gay adoption. They just go in for abuse."

Work conflicts

A number of recent cases demonstrate that Christians face the risk of losing their jobs if they express their conscience objections. David Booker, a charity worker, was suspended for two weeks following a conversation he had with another staff member in which he spoke of his opposition to same-sex marriage, the Telegraph newspaper reported April 11.Booker insisted he not a bigot and merely limited himself to expressing his personal opinion. His colleague had also assured him that the views he was expressing were not offensive, the Telegraph article added.

On March 22, the Telegraph had reported on the case of hotel owners, Peter and Hazelmary Bull. A same sex couple has sued the Christian owners of a seaside hotel for refusing to rent them a room.New regulations added to the Equality Act in 2007 make it unlawful to refuse a person goods or facilities on the grounds of their sexuality.

Another case involved a marriage registrar employed by Islington Council in North London. Lillian Ladele objected to conducting ceremonies for same-sex civil partnerships. The council won an appeal against a previous ruling that had found it guilty of discrimination against Ladele for her views, the BBC reported last Dec. 19.The judgment did note, however, that not all of the council management team treated Ladele's beliefs sensitively. For decades proponents of rights for homosexuals have made appeals for tolerance and compassion, qualities that seem sorely lacking now that they are increasingly winning legal recognition.

What a Roman Catholic Is NOT

I've been asked to define what a Roman Catholic is since I dared to state what a Reformed Baptist is from my point of view. But this week we were provided with a nauseating example of what a Roman Catholic is not.

In order to become Roman Catholic you must state publicly and believe with all your heart and mind that everything the Roman Catholic Church teaches was revealed by God. I was delighted to state that publicly at my Confirmation. And since, as Catholics we don't believe in faith without works, we define "belief" as embracing a truth and living daily in the light of that truth. We either have to walk the talk or we are liars. Period. So anyone who says they are Catholic but does not adhere to Catholic teaching, live by Catholic teaching, declare Catholic teaching, or even vote Catholic teaching IS NOT CATHOLIC! They have excommunicated themselves by their rejection of the Church's authority over their beliefs and actions.

So this dude, who has decided that being called a Priest is all that is important to him, and has rejected the beautiful and unspeakable privilege of feeding the people of God on the Blessed Sacrament which is Christ Himself, and has opted to continue his illicit affair and settle for a collar in a Church founded as an alternative to the Church Christ established and empowered to bring the Sacraments to His people. He'd rather take part in counterfeit love and counterfeit sacraments so that he can keep his radio show and his social status.

He, and any other Priest who decided to run amok and become his own magisterium, have deserted their own bride and become schismatics. So don't go pointing to them and telling me that this Priest or this Bishop disagrees with the Church and teaches error. If they are teaching contrary to the Catholic Church, they aren't Catholic. End of discussion.

Isaac Does Not Need Surgery!!!

The cardiologist says that the murmur the pediatrician heard was not the type that requires surgery! Thank you so much for your prayers!

I Want To Get Even

I went to my original parish last evening for Mass. There is a elderly Priest there who came recently to take the Associate Pastor position. I've been to confession with him once and he was very insightful. His homily last night sparked a thought that made me sit there in Mass smiling ear from ear. It was a glorious thought and I wanted to share it with you.

He was talking about forgiveness as apposed to "getting even." Of course that phrase is always used to describe acts of revenge or spite for an offense once suffered. It's the Old Testament custom of "an eye for an eye." I've been accused by a few of writing my story in order to "get even" with my parents. As I sat there last night with forgiveness and "getting even" simmering together in my thoughts, I was struck with an alternate meaning of "getting even."

I suffered offenses from my parents. I went through some of the most painful things a young girl and eventually a woman can experience. I have seen the destruction those acts have had on my life decades later. I've been through the pain of the healing process and I've come out the other end . . . well, I've come out the other end blessed beyond measure!

See I have long since realized that if I had not gone through this nightmare, I would not have experienced the amazing grace of God in healing and transforming my heart. I would not know Him as intimately as I do. I would not realize my special place in His Sacred Heart. I wouldn't know the sweetness of being Abba's little girl.

Psalms 32 talks about the horrible weight of guilt and how it crushes our spirit and makes our bodies weary and wasted. It talks about how confession and reconciliation brings new life and joy and even a testimony to the world of God's greatness. Knowing that my parents have carried this burden for so long and knowing what would happen to them if they turned to the Lord and to me to experience forgiveness and reconciliation, I do want to get even with them, I want them equally blessed, healed and enlivened as I have been. So in this case, forgiveness and "getting even" are perfectly harmonious and they are my prayer.

Unthinkable

I was cruising around YouTube this morning and found this. It makes me sick and it reminds me of the tragic choice our nation made last fall. God help us fight the tide of death in this country and around the world.

The Angelus

The Angelus ~ Click Image

Still Think I'm Over Reacting?

I'm only one of many voices out there shouting against the din of this culture of death. Up in Canada, my friend, John Pacheco, has been fighting the fight with all his strength and beyond. Unfortunately, the gay agenda has set us up for a show down. While we were trying to be tolerant, they "Will and Graced" themselves into public acceptance and even public sympathy. Now one country after another is falling into the clutches of the gay agenda and choosing to defend the disordered and outlaw the faithful. Since God has stated clearly that homosexuality is a disordered situation, and the general public has decided it is as normal as motherhood and apple pie, the battle lines are clearly drawn. In the very near future, it will become illegal to stand on the Word of God and the law will make sure that your teenager is being "ministered to" by a gay youth minister.

Lord have mercy.

Be Ready . . . in season and out

Sometimes duty calls when you're not quite expecting it.

Chinese Underground Catholic Church

Click here for a rare look into what it is like to have to hide in order to worship as the Lord commands and to be faithful to the Pope in a country that hates religion. Take a real close look. This is likely our future. I love these people. Pray for them. They never know when they might pay for their love of Christ and His Church with their lives.

Kitten Converts

A young boy, walking down a city sidewalk, met a Baptist minister. The minister said, "Hi, Tommy. What do you have in that shoe box?" "These are my new born Baptist kittens. I'm taking them to the show""Very nice" said the minister. He patted Tommy on the head and continued on his way.

The next week, the Baptist minister ran into Tommy again. This time Tommy had a larger box."Hi Tommy. What do you have in that box?" "Oh hi preacher", Tommy said. "These are my Catholic kittens. I'm taking them to the park"."I thought your kittens were Baptist?" said the minister."Oh they were preacher, but this week their eyes are open".

Land of the Free? The Arrest of the Brave.

All you folks who think I'm nuts for saying that the days of our religious freedom are numbered, get a load of this! And this!

A Truckload of Truth

My daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Justin, found this truck while on their honeymoon and knew that I would love to have a picture of it. they were so right.

Reader Survey

With this post, I'm going to take a break from the Out of Darkness series. My plan now is to step back and take an overview of the whole series. I may find that there are other facets that need to be addressed or I may find that it's been covered sufficiently. My next step is to hammer this whole list of articles and make one manuscript of it.

One thing that will help me is to get some feedback from those of you who have read the whole series or at least most of it. I'm going to present some questions below for you to cut and paste into an email, but also feel free to just write your thoughts on your reaction to the series.

My email address is: waycatholic@yahoo.com

I look forward to hearing from you.

1. Were the articles easy to follow? Was the writing style understandable?



2. Was the story applicable to your own life? Could you see yourself in the story?



3. What part of the series was most helpful to you?



4. What about the methodology used with me did you find most helpful?



5. Did you find any of the methodology used with me surprising or objectionable?



6. What suggestions do you have to help clarify the series? How would you make it better?



7. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? Would you be interested in going through a similar process to find peace?



Thank you for your readership and your supportive prayers. Keep this project in your prayers as I seek the Lord's guidance with the rest of this project.

Satisfaction Guaranteed ~ The Sacraments

Sarah and Justin went through RCIA at St. Thomas the Apostle in Phoenix. Going through RCIA there is not like going through RCIA many other places. STA takes conversion very seriously. They take catechises very seriously. They take scripture very seriously. They take sponsorship very seriously. In order to sponsor someone at STA, you must attend classes with them for a year. These classes are centered around the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church. When you come out the other end of these classes you know what you are getting into and why. You also have a great understanding of what God has been up to ever since He said "Let there be light."

Our RCIA leader is Eric Westby, who is also the head of adult education for the diocese. I love Eric's definition of a Sacrament. He says a Sacrament is a guaranteed encounter with Jesus Christ. You can explain it many other ways and with far bigger words, but that is what it all boils down to.

I planned on writing this article about the Sacraments that so constantly meet the deepest needs of my heart. I had planned on expressing how no matter what I have lost in this journey through abuse and divorce, the deepest needs of my heart are met continually through the Sacrament of Confession that purifies and refines and renews my heart and mind. And how I find the oneness with Christ through the Sacrament of the Eucharist to be the source and summit of my Christian life. The Eucharist is life support for the soul.

But there is much written out there about the Sacraments and what they mean. I decided that I would use my own life as a humbling and "first person" testimony to the reality of the Sacraments.

There was a related cluster of pet sins in my life that plagued me from childhood. As I mentioned in a recent article, my father's abuse influenced me to struggle with these sins, but it was my own stubborn will that continued to make them a habitual and dominant part of my life. Even after I had gone through the discipleship process and had experienced deep healing from the effects of my father's sin, these sins stilled drew me back into darkness with remarkable strength.

As a Protestant, I was urged to read my Bible more, pray for God's help more, recite more verses, use more mental discipline, and write and pray through confession lists as often as necessary in order to try to combat the irresistible pull of these sins. I even felt some alienation from my counsel or and best friend because I was so enslaved to these vices. Having been free of them for a few years, they were both shocked and disappointed in me that I had slipped back into my old ways.

As I began studying the Catholic Church, I was so touched by how God had left us the Sacraments to cleans and strengthen us along our journey. He obviously knew how hard it was to live a holy life with all the influences of the world and our own tendency to fall. Being a perfect Father, He had provided for all our needs. He loved His children so much that He knew how to give them good gifts. When we asked for forgiveness, He knew how to cleanse us completely, teach us to amend our ways, and strengthen and nourish us to set our feet on the right road again. He knew that we would need to hear those precious words of absolution from someone with skin on who had an audible voice who could speak those precious words to His children for Him. He knew that we would need to come to Him often, maybe even daily, for the strength to follow in His footsteps. And He knew that in our hour of weakness, when life was ebbing away and our faith was meeting its greatest test, we would need to be born up in the arms of the Sacraments to carry our weakened souls safely home. In every need, through every trail, He had provided everything we needed.

As I studied further, I became convinced that if I was ever going to have victory over my own weaknesses, it was going to have to be God's doing through the Sacraments.

I just celebrated my eighth anniversary as a Catholic this Easter. For eight years I have fed at His table and run to Him for forgiveness and healing at the slightest indication of a fall. He has kept me safe thus far and given me a true hatred for my sin. He has helped me to see all my sin as a cheap substitute for the grace He provides me constantly in the Sacraments. I'm here to tell you that the only true victory over our sinful nature comes from His amazing grace, provided through the guaranteed encounters with Jesus Christ called the Sacraments.

Urgent Prayer Request

This is my lovely daughter, Sarah, and her wonderful husband, Justin on their wedding day last January. One year previous to this sacred day Justin received a kidney transplant from his sister, Elizabeth. He had been losing kidney function for the previous several years and then a bout of the flu took his kidneys out entirely. He spent a year on dialysis while testing and preparations were done to give him a new kidney. While those preparations were going on, Justin and Sarah were in RCIA, preparing to enter the Catholic Church and start their lives together as a Catholic couple. Short of the redemption purchased for them by Jesus Christ on the cross and the grace poured out on them in the Sacraments by the Church, they are the best thing that ever happened to each other.

About a week or so ago, Justin and Sarah went to Taco Bell. Justin ate their chicken something or other. It wasn't long before he realized that he had food poisoning. He has felt very ill since then. His doctors have him on antibiotics and he's recovering slowly. Transplant patients live their lives on drugs that suppress their immune systems. This is necessary to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. Infections like this are not a simple thing for a transplant patient.

Please keep Justin and Sarah in your prayers. Please ask St. Benedict (Patron Saint of kidney patients) and of course our Blessed Mother to pray for his speedy and complete recovery and for the blessing and protection of Justin's kidney. To me, that is the most important kidney in the world.

Pray for their faith that they will look to the Lord for their help and peace of mind and heart. Pray, too, for them as they go from finishing their finals this week, right into summer school next week.

Thank you for your prayers.

UPDATE: Justin had a blood test and he does not have salmanila! He's feeling better and he returned to work today! Thanks for your prayers.

Please Pray For My Angelic Grandson

Isaac went in for his checkup last week and we learned that he has a heart murmur. He sees a cardiologist on the 27th of this month. His daddy had to have surgery around this age for the same thing. This poor little guy has been through so much. Please keep him in your prayers. Thank you so much.

The Crucifix

I wrote this little piece a long time ago. In fact it was around the time of my conversion which was in 2001! It has meant a lot to a number of folks over the years and I thought I would bring it home to this blog.

There's Something About Her

She has a way about her.

Pray For The Safety Of The Holy Father

Click here to see Patrick's article on the Holy Father and his travels. There has been talk of an assassination attempt. Blessed Mother, keep him under your mantle!

The Hand Puppet

This is so amazing. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day ~ Mom

A Victim No More ~ How to Know When You're Ready to Heal

I've gotten a lot of mail recently. Some of it has been from people who are angry. At the moment they think they are angry at me. They either don't agree with my methodology for making the message of healing available, or they don't appreciate my political commentary, or they just want to blow off steam about the economy and since I have a comment option they download 15 pages of venom just to make themselves feel better. That's fine. That's why I have the option to screen what gets posted to the blog and what gets sent to cyber-oblivion.

But I'm aware that when people throw stones they are quite often upset about something unrelated to the subject at hand. In a couple of cases, I could see through the bluster enough to see a soul that was in terrible pain from something that had happened long ago, but that they were not willing to deal with. They were frightened by the openness with which I discuss the pain of my past, because they are still covering up wounds of their own that they are afraid to take a good look at. After all, if you don't look at it, it's not there, right?

Actually, that approach only enables the continuation of sin and disorder. It makes certain that future generations will be damaged by the ripple effect of the offense. It is the real cause of generational sin.

Not only that, but it locks the offended person into a permanent victim mentality. They may feel they have dealt with the original problem by throwing a rug over it and moving on stoically, but in reality the desire to be heard and understood just takes other forms and crops up in other areas of life. Better to clean the original wound and face the pain of real treatment than to let the infection of victimhood become a systemic situation.

Two things happen when a person is ready to heal. First of all denial stops and there is a willingness to lift that old bandage off and face the treatment of the real problem. All the usual displaced sadness stops and the focus becomes the original wound. I remember setting my face for Diane's house and knowing that this was my best opportunity to finally heal from something I didn't think was curable. (See "Out of Darkness ~ Nightmare on Paper.) It wasn't that I wasn't afraid or full of dread at the prospect of unearthing a secret that I'd tried to bury, but it was that I was tired of carrying this thing around in my soul and I was ready to do what ever it took to rid myself of it.

The other thing is that the offended person stops blaming the offender for the misery of their life. While it is important to place blame for the offense on the offender, it's also common for the offense to have influenced other areas of the victims life. In my case, my father's abuse had a ripple affect on many areas of my life and I blamed him for all of those things. I excused myself from any blame for the mess I had made of my life and the pet sins I had held on to for years. When I realized that there was actually hope that I might be able to heal, I also knew it was time to stop blaming my father for the ways I had reacted to his sin. Those things were my own doing. If I wanted to heal, I was going to have to not only dig out the original wound, I was going to have to go after my own reactionary sins as well.

An amazing number of sexually abused women turn to alcohol or drugs as a hiding place from the pain. Many become promiscuous and leave a trail of broken relationships or meaningless encounters behind them. While the original sin is horrendous and the original offender is in part responsible for the way their selfish act has affected the victim, it is the victims who bears the guilt for their subsequent sins. It's the victim that is going to have to be willing to tackle their own vices regardless of what triggered them. When I was ready to face the work that was ahead of me in order to heal from my father's sin, I was also ready to separate out what he had done from what I had done and blamed on him.

After I forgave my father and began taking responsibility for my own sins, I lost that angry edge that had poisoned my relationships with everyone else. I stopped seeing myself as a victim and started seeing myself as someone who could face any daunting challenge in God's power. I knew that if God could enable me to work through what had happened to me AND enable me to root out the resultant sins in my life, He could carry me through anything.

Arch Bishop Burke Comments on the Norte Dame Scandal

One of my blog friends posted this article. Thank God for Bishops who will speak up against the tide of public opinion.

Ladies, make a note . . .

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
That a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

From a poem by Maya Angelou

I Pray The Rosary

A reader sent me this video and I think it's cool. Happy Mother's Day, Mama Mary!

How Many Christians to Change a Light Bulb

My friend Steve has got me laughing again.

Why Write?

If you write for God, you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men, you may make some money and you may give someone a little joy and you may make a noise in the world, for a little while. If you write only for yourself, you can read what you yourself have written and after ten minutes you will be so disgusted, you will wish that you were dead."

-- Thomas Merton, "New Seeds of Contemplation"

The Religions of Our Founding Fathers

I have been taken to task by some readers for referring to this as a formerly Christian nation. I found this at a source I usually find too leftist for my tastes, but it will do for now. While it states that 1.9% of the Founding Fathers were not Christian, they apparently feel that that's enough to prove that our Founding Fathers were not Christian. I thought this was a democracy. Hmmm.

Obama Disses National Day Of Prayer

Mr. Obama again proves that his agenda includes de-Christianizing the United States. I was appalled earlier when Mr. Obama spoke out of turn by stating that "we" don't think of ourselves as a Christian nation. Speak for yourself, Barack. This has been a Christian nation from the beginning. We were open to all those of other religions, but our constitution and our laws were written and based on Christian principles and the majority of those who founded this great nation claimed the name of Christ. This is a nation founded "Under God."

Christians, keep your eyes open and your knees on the floor. If we don't rise up and make our voices heard four years from now, we can kiss our religious freedoms good bye.

Blessed Mother Teresa

One filled with joy preaches without preaching." -- Blessed Mother Teresa

Kind of a Rambling Update

I thought I would bring folks up to speed on what's been happening at the Bond's house and where I am headed with the blog.

I mentioned a while back that I was going to start offering my handmade beaded jewelry for sale on line. I consider it kind of a "tent making operation" to support Abba's Little Girl. I haven't quite figured out how to present it on line yet, but I'm working on it. I have really enjoyed resurrecting this hobby and I've been able to see some returns as well. So if I ever figure out how to make the on line thing work, I'll let you know.

As far as the Out of Darkness series is concerned, I'm close to being to the point where I am going to take some time to analyze what has been written, perhaps go back and fill in some gaps, and eventually work it into a manuscript form.

I have some ideas about how I would like to see this information used, but many mountains would have to be moved before those ideas could become a reality. That's where you all come in. I need your prayers. I plan on contacting the folks who originally introduced me to this program. If you remember, these dear folks are protestants and they severed their relationships with me because I became Catholic. I am asking you to pray that the Lord would give me guidance in how to approach them. I don't need their permission to use the truths of God's Word, and I certainly don't need their permission to use my own story, but I'd love to let them know that not only are the truths of God's Word affective in their congregations, but they are even more affective in the Catholic faith. I don't really expect them to be completely open to that concept, but I am praying that the Holy Spirit will plant seeds that will eventually help them to see that God can work miracles in the lives of Catholics.

After getting the Out of Darkness series into manuscript form, I will be seeking the Lord's guidance on the possibility of it becoming a book. My hope would be that the book would serve as a introduction and overall view of the process of healing. No book can walk an individual through their own journey to healing, but a book can serve to give hope and create a desire to be open to God's healing.

My ultimate desire is to formulate the Out of Darkness series into the initial steps of healing that could be addressed in a Parish Mission where the possibility of one-on-one discipling is more attainable. I think the formula the Rachel's Vineyard uses to address the issues of post-abortive women is the closest I've seen to what would be needed to address each individual's needs.

As you can see, I have a lot of ideas on the drawing board, but in the meantime I have a few more articles that will be posted that are important to the series as a whole. Then I'm going to turn the mic around so to speak, and ask you for your input. So be thinking about what you have found the most helpful or what needs the most work. If you haven't read the whole series, they are available in the archives. Check the margin for the subject index and just click "Out of Darkness." They will come up in reverse chronological order because of the blog format, but they can all be read there.

Keep an eye on the "In The Works" section for what is in the cue.

I wish the folks from this program had been at Mass this morning. Fr. Patrick preached a great (CTO) sermon. So much for Catholics not being called to repentance and faith in Christ! Where I worship, the words sin, hell, repentance, faith, commitment, and holiness are as commonplace as the pews and the candles. Where did this "Catholics aren't Christians" thing come from anyway? I believe it came from the pit of hell where all lies come from.

Some Good Economic Observations Credited to Abraham Lincoln on the Economic Crisis (but apparently it wasn't honest Abe.)