The Bachelorette reminds me of how grateful I am to be Catholic

I have watched several seasons (not all) of The Bachelor/Bachelorette on and off over the years. I am not watching this season however because I did watch the previous season where viewers were first introduced to Hannah Brown whom in my opinion is about as intelligent as a bag of rocks and more boring than watching grass grow. 

Try as I might to avoid Brown, a tweet on Twitter from Pat Robertson's CBN caught my eye. 

Hannah Brown, the "Christian" single woman having sex and looking for a husband on ABC's reality show "The Bachelorette" has declared "I am having physical relationships," and "The Lord made sex to be amazing!". 

Apparently, this self professed Christian believes fornication is perfectly acceptable to our Lord because, get this, "I can do whatever. I sin daily, and Jesus still loves me. It's all washed, and if the Lord doesn't judge me and it's all forgiven, then no other man, woman, animal -- anything, I don't know! -- can judge me!"

I've heard this before years ago when I first became Catholic and protestant "friends" on social media were trying to talk me out of being Catholic. They attempted to correct me about going to Confession for my sins by telling me "It's all washed!". Poof! the moment Jesus died on the cross all my sins past, present and future were already washed away so I could sin daily and not worry about it. No need to repent. 

To this day it shocks me that people who claim to love Jesus feel their sinning is harmless and acceptable to God because Jesus loves them. Brown doesn't deny fornication is a sin, she just justifies her sin by saying "Jesus loves me" and "the Lord doesn't judge me". Where in the world did she get that from? 

She is shocked by the responses she is getting from the Christian world after she went naked bungee-jumping with one of the bachelors on the show competing for her hand in marriage. 

I don't know what denomination Hannah belongs to, reports merely describe her as "a devout Christian". 👀🤦 Whoever is 'teaching' her about Christianity is either confused or diabolical and purposely leading her toward Hell rather than Heaven. 

What part of Christianity teaches naked bungee-jumping is appropriate at any time- let alone with two people who barely (no pun intended) know each other while a film crew records it and millions of viewers watch? Or that suddenly fornication is acceptable to God because Jesus loves us? People often forget that the woman found in fornication about to be stoned to death (John 8:3-11) was told to "sin no more" by Jesus. He didn't tell her "Hey, you can continue fornicating because I love you, it's all good." Rather he called out her sin and told her to stop. Same with the invalid at the pool (John 5:1-15) when Jesus said to him, "Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee."

Quote: She [Hannah Brown] told ET she feels "blessed" that producers decided to showcase Christianity on her season. "A lot of times, people get Christianity and religion messed up. Your faith should be something personal in a relationship and it's not to judge others," the Alabama native expressed. "Christianity is something you welcome others into. It should be a place where people feel safe and welcomed... and not to feel judged or shamed."

The irony of that statement. 🤦

Besides my frustration at this type of attitude I am mostly angry. I was really, really angry when I found the Truth in Catholicism because at that moment I knew that almost everything I thought I knew about Christianity was a lie. I had been lied to, my non-Catholic family had been lied to for generations and so many of them died in those lies. Makes me mad- furious really. 

I pray daily for the conversion of sinners. I pray for the blind to see because once not too long ago I was one of those blind idiots stumbling around in protestantism thinking just because I loved Jesus I was saved and had nothing to fear or worry about. I was a fool. I had been fed lies and believed them.

Thank you Jesus for answering my prayers and bringing me home to your Holy Catholic Church. I am ever so grateful. 
🙏

In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 



links: 

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2019/june/jesus-and-premarital-sex-make-big-appearance-on-the-bachelorette

https://www.etonline.com/how-hannah-browns-season-is-changing-sex-and-religion-on-the-bachelorette-exclusive-127204 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/bachelorette-star-hannah-brown-hits-back-at-show-critics-1221699 

Calling all Catholic priests...why are you abandoning women?

I read a book years ago called "The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life" by Father Charles Aminjon because Saint Theresa of Lisieux wrote "Reading this book was one of the greatest graces of my life." 

After reading the book, I completely agree. In the book is a small passage where St. Bernard is quoting from his book on the life of St. Malachy. 

Quote page 153: "This saint [Malachy] relates that one day he saw his sister, who had been dead for some time. She was doing her purgatory in a cemetery. On account of of her vanity and the attention she had devoted to her hair and body, she had been sentenced to live in the very grave where she had been buried, and to witness the dissolution of her body. The saint offered the Sacrifice of the Mass for her for thirty days; at the end of this period he saw his sister again. This time she had been sentenced to complete her purgatory at the gate of the church, doubtless because of her irreverent demeanor in the holy place; perhaps she had distracted the faithful from the Sacred Mysteries in order to draw eyes and appreciation to herself. She was exceedingly sad, wearing a mourning veil, and was in extreme anguish. The saint offered the Sacrifice once more for thirty days, and she appeared to him for the last time in the sanctuary, with unruffled countenance, radiant in a white robe. The bishop knew by this sign that his sister had gained her deliverance."  

I came across another quote, that says nearly the same thing.

'We read also in Father Nieremberg that a noble lady, who was exceedingly pious, asked God to make known to her what displeased His Divine Majesty most in persons of her sex. The Lord vouchsafed in a miraculous manner to hear her. He opened under her eyes the Eternal Abyss.There she saw a woman a prey to cruel torments and in her recognized one of her friends, a short time before deceased. This sight caused her as much astonishment as grief: the person whom she saw damned did not seem to her to have lived badly.Then that unhappy soul said to her: "It is true that I practiced religion, but I was a slave of vanity. Ruled by the passion to please, I was not afraid to adopt indecent fashions to attract attention, and I kindled the fire of impurity in more than one heart. Ah! If Christian women knew how much immodesty in dress displeases God!" At the same moment, this unhappy soul was pierced by two fiery lances, and plunged into a caldron of liquid lead.' Source: Rev. F.X. Schouppe, S.J.[SaintsWorks.net] 

The issue of immodesty and women's vanity is a huge issue in society that most women today are completely unaware of. They do not know that immodest clothing and vanity are deadly to their souls. Hollywood, fashion, magazines and social media whores like the Kardashian's have blinded women to true virtue and dignity found in modesty. 

But the blame doesn't rest solely on them. The responsibility is really on the Catholic Church (Matthew 28:16-20) to lead by teaching these things to the laity to save our souls. If the Church doesn't do its duty to teach us right from wrong, secular society will poison us with their lies. 

Sheep are generally dumb, they follow whatever shepherd is leading and right now secular society's demonic shepherds are leading countless sheep to Hell because there are so few good shepherds among the wolves in the Church willing to lead the flock to Heaven. 

This week on Twitter, Catholic priest Fr. Kevin Cusick (whom I believe is a very good priest and I have enjoyed following him on social media for years) put out the following tweets: 

All Hell broke loose and swarms of diabolical idiots (Catholics included) attacked this priest for daring to tweet out Catholic teaching. 

'The parish priest and especially the preacher, when occasion arises, should according to the words of the Apostle Paul (2 Tim. iv, 2) insist, argue, exhort and command that feminine garb be based on modesty and womanly ornament be a defense of virtue. Let them likewise admonish parents to cause their daughters to cease wearing indecorous dress.' 
Decree of the Congregation of the Council (by the mandate of Pope Pius XI), 1930 A.D. 

Fr. Cusick decided to delete his entire Twitter account and leave the fight, much to my disappointment. His explanation can be read on The Wanderer. 

Recall just a few months ago in March, a Catholic mother of four sons wrote a letter to the Editor of her local paper about women wearing leggings to Mass. 

Quote: "The emergence of leggings as pants some years ago baffled me. They’re such an unforgiving garment. Last fall, they obtruded painfully on my landscape. I was at Mass at the Basilica with my family. In front of us was a group of young women, all wearing very snug-fitting leggings and all wearing short-waisted tops (so that the lower body was uncovered except for the leggings). Some of them truly looked as though the leggings had been painted on them.A world in which women continue to be depicted as “babes” by movies, video games, music videos, etc. makes it hard on Catholic mothers to teach their sons that women are someone’s daughters and sisters. That women should be viewed first as people — and all people should be considered with respect." "...  I wonder why no one thinks it’s strange that the fashion industry has caused women to voluntarily expose their nether regions in this way. I was ashamed for the young women at Mass. I thought of all the other men around and behind us who couldn’t help but see their behinds."

Mass hysteria erupted over this on social media attacking this Catholic mother and her sons (I wrote about it HERE). 

I don't have any expectations that non-Catholics in our secular society will understand the importance of modesty, but I am truly floored by the venom from 'Catholics' who attacked Fr. Cusick for his tweet. 

It's like modern society has put the stamp of approval on revealing clothing, so God must accept it too. 

Ummm...NO!  Doesn't work like that. 

More over, our Catholic clergy have a responsibility to TEACH THE FAITH whether we like hearing it or not! 

2 Timothy 4    

4 "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. 5 As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

Catholic priests are here for the sole purpose of saving souls! It's your calling! It's your duty! 

You are our Fathers (1 Cor. 4:15)! Correct us! Lead us! Love our souls enough to die for them. That's what Jesus did. It's what He called YOU our clergy to do. 

To all the Father Cusick's out there where ever you are, please, please do not run away from the flock! Souls are at stake here. Don't abandon the sheep to the wolves of secular society. 🙏



In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 

Links: 

https://thewandererpress.com/catholic/news/frontpage/a-leaven-in-the-world-when-the-twitter-mob-came-after-me/

https://connecticutcatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2019/03/yahoo-editor-elizabeth-di-filippo-makes.html 

https://ndsmcobserver.com/2019/03/the-legging-problem/  

The Biter Bitten

The following is from The Fountain of Catholic Knowledge (copyrighted by Office of Catholic Publications, 1900)... 

  Two young officers, when walking one day in Paris, entered the Church of the Assumption. After having looked at the pictures, the architecture; after having thought of everything excepting God, they were going out, when they perceived a priest wearing a surplice kneeling down close to a confessional. He seemed to be waiting for someone. 

"Look! Do you see that priest?" said one of the young men, laughingly, to his companion. "What is he doing there?" 
"Waiting for you, perhaps," replied the other. 
"Not very probable," answered the first; "but what will you bet that I go up and speak to him?" 
"I bet you will not." 
"And what is more, that I will confess to him?" 
"I bet you will not." 
"I bet that I will. Come, what do you bet?" 
"A good dinner." 
"With champagne?" 
"With champagne." 
"Done!...Agreed!... Wait for me, and watch the manoeuvre." 

    And the foolish young fellow advances boldly to the priest of God. He whispers to him, and he rises immediately, enters the confessional; then the officer goes in at one of the sides and kneels down, just as is always done. 

"Will he ever have the effrontery?" thought the other. And with a smile of admiration on his lips, he sat down to wait for the improvised penitent. 
This went on for about seven or eight minutes, at the end of which he thought the joke had lasted a little too long. At length, after more than a quarter of an hour, the officer rose, came out of the confessional, and left after making a sign to his friend. His face was serious, and he seemed deeply moved. However, he laughed about the adventure with his companion, but would not tell him why he had remained so long. Upon the first excuse he left him and returned home. 

   Two days after, he again entered the Assumption, and, after having prayed for a long time, approached the same confessional where the same priest had just gone in. 

   This time he remained for half an hour; there were tears in his eyes when he came out...Peace and joy were written in his face...He had just received the pardon of his sins...And what was the meaning of all this? and what had happened to him two days before? It happens as follows, and I tell it in the officer's own words: 

   The priest to whom he addressed himself very quickly perceived, by the tone of his penitent, that he was listening to no serious confession. 

"This is all in mockery, monsieur," he said gently, interrupting him. "You are doing wrong; you must not scoff at the things of God nor at His appointed ministers. But I pardon you from my heart, and I pray God to do the same." 

The officer, a little disconcerted, tried to excuse himself. 

"No, no," said the good priest, smiling. "You have done wrong; let us say no more about it. Still, since you have sought me out, allow me to speak to you for a minute, to ask you what you are-what is your calling?" 
"Willingly, father," replied the young man; "I am an officer." 
"Ah! That is a very fine calling. And what is your grade?" 
"I am a sub-lieutenant." 
"And after that what will you become?" 
"I shall be a lieutenant." 
"And afterward?"
"Afterward a captain." 
"And afterward?" 
"A commander; then lieutenant-colonel, then colonel, then general, then lieutenant-general, perhaps." 
"And what age will you be then?" 
"Well, if I have good luck, and if I go to Africa, about forty or forty-five." 
"And do you not intend to marry?" 
"Oh, yes, I shall marry!" 
"Well, then you will become a general and married; and after that what will you become?" 
"After that? Why there is nothing left but the grade of a marshal." 
"And supposing that you should obtain that, what would you do afterward?" 
"Upon my word, I should do nothing more. I should rest with my wife and children." 
"And afterward?" 
"How afterward?" 
The serious tone of the priest troubled the young officer. 
"Ah, well! I shall die afterward." 
"And afterward?" 

The young man shuddered. Of this afterward he never thought. 

"You give me no answer, monsieur." said the confessor gravely. "You are ignorant perhaps, of what will come to pass afterward. You have told me only of what will happen before. But now I will tell you, in my turn, what will happen afterward. After your death, your soul will appear before Jesus Christ, and will be judged, not according to that human glory which will have vanished like a dream, but according to the good or evil it has done. If you have been virtuous, a faithful observer of the laws of God and of His Church; if you have been humble, pure, chaste, just, and merciful to others,-in a word, if you have been a good and faithful Christian, you will be saved, and will enter into the immutable happiness of eternity. If, on the contrary, you have followed the bent of your evil passions; if you have forgotten the services of God; if you have been proud, sensual, negligent, merciless, and unjust,- in a word, if you have not been a true Christian, you will be damned, understand me, monsieur. 
    General, marshal, though you may be, you will be judged by Him who has no respect for persons, and you will hear the thunder of the terrible sentence: 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.' Now I have only one word more to say to you. It was no slight offence to come thus to mock me, face to face. I demand some satisfaction which, as a man of honor, you cannot refuse. 
    I demand, understand me,-I demand that during one week, very night before you sleep, you shall think of what I have just said to you, and shall pronounce these words: 'I shall die; but I laugh at it. After my death I shall be judged; but I laugh at it. After my judgment I shall be eternally damned; but I laugh at it.' 
This is the reparation that I exact. Will you give me your word of honor to that you will not fail to grant it?" 

  His penitent, wholly entangled in the snare he had intended for another, dared not refuse. He promised upon his word of honor to do what was asked from him. 

"Go, then, monsieur," said the priest; "I pardon you from my heart, and I promise to remember you before the throne of God." 

    From a sentiment of loyalty and honor, the young officer performed the penance thus imposed. He made no resistance, and two days after his heart changed, and, sincerely repentant, he returned in good earnest to that confessional which he had entered in jest. He has since become an excellent Christian. 

   If we were wise, we should reflect every day upon the shortness of life, and the unchangeable eternity which awaits us; and by means, we too, should become good and faithful Christians." [end, pg 379-382] 

~~~

I highly recommend watching this excellent episode of The Download which speaks of what awaits people in hell...and a few of the sins, especially betrayal that will send a person to hell.

In Christ,


Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 




Link: http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/watch-the-full-show-the-downloadhell-and-traitorous-clergy

image: http://sib-catholic.ru/katolicheskomu-svyashhenniku-v-ssha-prishlos-vyislushat-ispoved-pod-dulom-pistoleta/

My problem: the pope, the pope and the pope some more

Some folks have been wondering and asking "Where are you?  Are you still going to blog?" 

After starting off my Lent by writing a post asking the pope to "shut up" I thought I needed a time-out.  Originally, I had intended only to take a break during Lent and return after Easter.  

My problem was...well... I just couldn't stand Pope Francis nor trust him.  Every day he was driving me nuts in what he did, didn't do, said and didn't say.  I could find nothing in him to like or even tolerate. My feelings for him had gotten so low I was angry, bitter and furious with the pope daily. And this greatly disturbed me. 

And the problem now is... I still feel the same. I don't want to feel like this, but the truth is I do. 

So to give my wonderful priest a break from hearing me confess that same thing week after week; and to keep me from continually hogging the confessional, I've decided I need a longer break and I need to keep away from anything related to our current pope.  That's not an easy thing to do for a Catholic blogger.  

I might focus future posts more on sharing the Catholic faith, prayers, saints- anything Catholic that lets me put out of my mind that Pope Francis is our current pope. 

I am avoiding what leads me to sin.  Sadly, its our pope. :( 

I keep telling myself that God has His reasons and it's not my place to question them- but I don't like it.  So...I am going to ignore my intolerance of this pope to the best of my abilities by avoiding the entire subject of Pope Francis.  There are plenty of other Catholics out there taking on this issue who already do a much better job than I.  May God give them strength in their endeavors.

I will pray for the Church and continue to love my Faith, defend my Faith and share my Faith, but I am going to do my best to avoid the entire subject of who God is allowing to be called "pope" at this moment.  

That's all I'm saying on that. 

If there are any other subjects someone would like to see me comment on, please drop me an email, tweet or comment here. 

Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you. 


God bless you all. 

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 

Serpents wearing vestments

I have started this blog article several times- my first attempts were surely sinful and would have landed me right back in the Confessional that I just left, so I am trying again.  

This weeks episode of EWTN's The World Over with Raymond Arroyo featured Cardinal Wuerl speaking of the Synod.  This was truly VERY difficult for me to watch.  I am not kidding when I say listening to this (in my opinion) deceitful evil man (yeah, I'm gonna call him that) conjured images of a forked tongue flicking out of his mouth as he spoke.  I was furious listening to him spread confusion and deceit and his outrageous refusal to give an answer to anything Raymond asked. *more on that later

Wuerl played word games and took Arroyo for a whirl around the dance floor several times.  Raymond gave a few feeble attempts to get a straight clear answer out of this serpent, but all he got was Wuerl using words like "crystal clear" when in fact all he said was clear as mud. Then Wuerl tap danced some more in an attempt to distract Arroyo from his questions. I don't know if it worked, or Raymond got tired of dancing.  I am guessing Arroyo knew this Cardinal had no intention of speaking the truth or answering anything honestly so he [Arroyo] gave up.

If you can stomach it, give it a watch: 

I am speaking here as a convert to the Catholic Faith.  I was a protestant for most of my life, living in all sorts of sin because people with the Truth didn't bother to tell me the Truth.  They kept it to themselves.  

Most of them would have happily or ignorantly allowed me to die in my sins while they enjoyed the Sacraments Christ gave to them through His Holy Catholic Church.  

They went to Confession and heard the words of absolution from their priests.  I was told by my Baptist preacher that I didn't have to confess my sins because Jesus already died for all sin and I had "accepted Jesus into my heart" so I was on my way to Heaven!  Praise the Lord!  

Had I died I would not have been on my way to Heaven.  I would have gone the other direction. 

To hear Cardinal Wuerl speak about walking with people IN THEIR SIN, and not telling them what sin is because it's not the "message" of Christ made me furious.  

Of course it's the message of Christ to REPENT and sin no more!  How can anyone repent if the Church refuses to tell people what sin is or that if they die in that sin they are going to Hell?  

He speaks of the persons "own conscience" leading them.  Well I can tell you my conscience was NOT well formed because I was not well informed on the Truth.  I couldn't make a well informed decision on Faith because I was ignorant of it!

Wuerl goes on and on (like Francis) about "mercy".  Well, I can tell you that I wasn't shown mercy by any Catholic who refused to share their Faith with me. To the Catholics out there (and you know who you are) who took the time to tell me I was wrong and my denomination was man-made and full of errors THOSE Catholics were loving and merciful.  They didn't want me to live my entire life in deception.  They wanted to share their Church with me.  They wanted me to have what they had. I will spend the rest of my life praying for those Catholics and thanking God for them because they didn't just lead me to the Truth, the Sacraments and the Holy Catholic Church, they brought my children too.  

If not for those Catholics, willing to fight with me, argue with me and not let me go on in error...my children may not have been baptized.  To Baptists, baptism is done to teens and adults as "an outward sign of an inner change".  They don't believe anything happens- you're just making a public show of your declaration that Jesus lives in your heart- you've said the sinner's prayer or answered an altar call (funny since Baptists don't have altars). 

I am writing this for all the Catholics out there to tell you PLEASE DON'T KEEP YOUR FAITH TO YOURSELF! There are too many people out there like I was, who thirsted for the Truth but couldn't find it on my own. You will never know how your speaking up can change a persons life- for eternity.  

Non-Catholics have no idea of the depth of the Truth found in the Catholic Church. They truly have a very small concept of sin because of the limitless errors inside Protestantism. These errors have leaked into the beliefs of many Catholics too- think of all the Catholics who believe birth control, abortion and gay marriage aren't sinful. People are ignorant of the Truth and they are living in sin because of it.

Please don't leave them there.  

Their eternity and the eternity of their children and grandchildren may depend on you speaking up. 

These hate-filled evil men in the Church who wish to walk with sinners in their sin rather than tell them 'repent and sin no more' as our Lord Jesus Christ did are leaving people IN their sin.  If these people die in their sins not only will they jeopardize their own salvation but also the salvation of their families. Having a priest "walk with them" or beside them in their sin won't change their damnation. They must be told to repent and sin no more.  That is loving them, that is true mercy.

And since so many clergy now will not tell people that, you must. Don't be silent.  If you don't know what to say to share your faith, LEARN IT and tell people where to find information on the Internet or if they like to read suggest a book.  Books were a HUGE part of my conversion and they were sent to me by the box loads by a Catholic who spent years arguing with me over the errors I had once clung to. She wouldn't give up on me no matter how much I fought back (and it was years).  She could have walked away and washed her hands of me, but she didn't.  She is now my very best friend in the world and I thank God for her everyday.  She helped change my life and the lives of my children.  

When I think of her and then listen to the Wuerls in our Church speak about love and mercy and meeting people where they are...she met me were I was, but she refused to leave me there or to accompany me in my sin.  

The Wuerls in the Church are leaving people in their sin, to die and risk damnation for all eternity and they call it "mercy" and the "message" of the Gospel. They are speaking with forked tongues. Don't be deceived by these serpents, they are doing their father's will, not the Divine Will of God. 

"Repent and sin no more" is the message Christ gave over and over in the Gospel.  Listen to Him, not the serpents wearing vestments.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 

Slander and its damage

This speaks for its self: 

What a wonderful lesson on slander and penance. 



In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 



* A friend sent me this in email, I don't know where she originally came by it.

Bruce Jenner a public abomination

Scene from Harry Potter movie

Many years ago, I worked part time in a store owned by a high school classmate of mine.  Each week, a bearded man would walk in dressed like June Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver.  He wore vintage women’s clothing with color matching pumps, a small pill hat, white gloves, pearl necklace and carried a small purse that coordinated with the color he was wearing.  He looked and was ridiculous.

Everyone had to pretend this wasn’t unusual for a man to do- especially a full bearded man who didn’t look feminine in the least. 

He was a man, dressed head to toe in women’s clothes.   An abomination according to God in Sacred Scripture.

Deuteronomy 22:5 (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition - RSVCE)⁵ “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.

For the past several months the media has been reporting that one time Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner was/is/had been “transitioning into a woman”.  Jenner announced that he will "be a woman soon".

Horse hockey!  Pony pucks!  Pigeon pellets!  Cow patties!  Jackass!  Bull cookies! Good grief! 

Bruce Jenner will no more be a woman than I will “transition” into an elm tree. 

Jenner’s DNA will always remain MALE.  He can pretend its Halloween and play dress up for the rest of his life and all he will accomplish is being a mutilated abomination. 

It’s a free country, if HE wants to be an abomination that’s his right in this country, but it is also the right of Christians –and others- NOT to play along and suddenly be forced to refer to Bruce as female. 

Unfortunately, today’s culture is full of idiots and hypocrites who demand tolerance for all the things they want, support and hold dear but absolutely refuse to allow anyone with a dissenting opinion the same right to have a dissenting opinion or the right to voice that opinion.  If you dare share a dissenting opinion in public you are at once attacked and labeled some sort of phobe.    

That happened to child actor Drake Bell, best known for his role on Nickelodeon’s “Drake and Josh” when the “Call me Caitlyn” Bruce Jenner story broke.  

After that tweet on Twitter, Bell was viciously attacked and forced to remove the tweet because he dared to voice his dissenting opinion on a man pretending to be a woman.

Bruce is not female, HE is male and HIS DNA will always be male no matter how many operations he undergoes or how much hormones he takes.  Bruce Jenner was born a man and will die a man.    

The insanity of our world today is limitless.  What was right is now called wrong.  What was wrong is now called right.  What was once known to be abnormal is now normal.  What was sin is now love, and what was once known as love is called hate. 

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition - RSVCE)^3 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.”

The devil has accomplished a great deal on this earth.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

What about all the scandal caused by Catholic laity?

I hoard collect old and rare Catholic books.  I love reading these old books and want to share them with my blog readers.  I’ve got bookshelves in my house filled with them in assorted sizes complete with that wonderful (to me) old musty book smell. ;)

One of them I want to quote from today is called “The Fountain of Catholic Knowledge” written in 1899 and published in 1900. 

It’s a large book and this is just a small sample of one topic in it.  The section I am sharing today, and the topic I wish to discuss is on the Church’s teaching of the terrible sin of scandal and how very damaging it is and how this sin ruins souls and causes the loss of salvation if not corrected and repented of.

Scandal is all over, but many hardly notice it, unless it’s coming from inside the Church.  The media happily (and correctly) calls the sin coming from the Church 'sin' and 'scandalous' but doesn't apply the same standard to sin outside the Church. 

Sadly, the media is also full of reporting priests supporting gay ‘marriage’, supporting women priests, abuses at Mass, child molestation and cover ups…you get the picture.  Depending on the media source and topic it may or may not call these things 'sin'.  But this isn't about the media, it's about us Catholics.

These ripples of scandal have spread across the globe causing numerous Catholics to leave Christ’s Holy Catholic Church.

But what about all the scandal caused by Catholic laity?

Are you still scandalized when you see a Catholic “remarry” outside the Church after a divorce, hence entering into public adultery?  Are you scandalized by adultery or do you happily attend the wedding and buy the adulterating couple a wedding gift?

Are you still scandalized by pre-marital sex or have you become so desensitized by it that the sin of fornication barely registers in your brain as you pick out a house warming gift for the fornicators in your family who insist on living together before marriage?

Are you getting the picture yet?

These sins are no longer taboo in our secular society.  Adultery, fornication, lies, lust, greed etc are the norm on television, in books, magazines, online… we are submerged in the ‘normalcy’ of sin.  Secular society has declared ‘sin’ to be…well, no longer sin at all.  There is no sin today according to our society.  Society tells us that if you live with your boyfriend/girlfriend before marriage that it’s “your own business” and no one else’s.

That is wrong.  

People don’t have to see you having sex to figure out if you are living with someone as boyfriend/girlfriend sharing the same bed you are committing fornication.

That is scandal. 

Scandal is the ripple effect of one person’s sin made public.  When was the last time you heard a homily on the sin of scandal?  I never have.  Thankfully, I am a Catholic bookhoarderworm so I read these wonderful old Catholic books that teach me the depth of these Catholic teachings.

Please carefully read the below quote and reflect on your own life any occasion that you might have caused scandal and the ripple effect that went out into the world because of it.  If upon reflection you are free from the sin of scandal, good for you!  If not… get thee to confession as soon as possible.

[quote]  “To cheat and to steal are, certainly, not virtuous actions; if we do either, we sin against God, our neighbor, and ourselves; but to give scandal to others is still worse, for this is one of the greatest dangers which can menace a soul.

 Scandal is the evil which we do to others by the bad example that we give them.

A man does wrong, no one knows it; he is guilty in the sight of God; he will lose his own soul if he does not repent.  This is very certain and very lamentable, but at least his example has perverted no one.  But suddenly a man hides his wrong-doing no longer, his evil life becomes known and spoken of, he even speaks of it himself, boasts of it, and appears to glory in a miserable notoriety.  Others, attracted at first by curiosity, begin to make a little circle around him, and to regard him with admiration.  “At all events this man must get some pleasure and excitement out of life!” they begin to say; and thus it follows that the evil which they regarded too closely strikes them, they are gradually overpowered by it; and next we may see them enjoying themselves after the manner of their model; they imitate him, and soon they desire to go still further than he!  This is scandal!

One man offended God; at this hour there are ten, a hundred, a thousand… Death strikes the author of this scandal; he goes to stand before his heavenly Judge and render an account of all those thousand souls lost by his example!

Thus you see how incalculable are the effects of bad example.  How is it possible completely to retrieve a scandal?  We may desire to do it, but often it is quite beyond our power.  Our Lord said, ‘Woe to that man by whom scandal cometh.  It were better for him that a millstone should be hanged around his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.’  He who knows everything, knew well that those who give scandal to their brethren stand upon the brink of their eternal ruin!  But, on the other hand, how happy a thing it is to give a good example!  It is to work in union with God Himself for the salvation of souls.  

 And how great is this power which each one of us possesses!  Consider the case of a young man who has been so unhappy as to give scandal to others by setting them an evil example; if he only examine himself, if he reflect, and consider the terrible account he will have to render, he becomes changed and converted; he was openly wicked, and is now openly a Christian!  His companions ridicule him; he pities them, he advises them to imitate him in his conversion; he sets an example of patience and temperance, of industry and morality, and, in the end, succeeds in saving a great number of those whom he would most certainly have led to destruction.

It is impossible to calculate the immense influence of example.  By means of this all-powerful influence whole families, parishes, schools, and communities are either saved or lost.  I have known a numerous family, worse than indifferent, become a model of religion and fervor, thanks to the holy influence of but one of its members, who, by turning to God with his whole heart, caused the light of faith to shine upon all who surrounded him through the force of example alone.  And I have known another family in which the apostasy of the eldest son led away into heresy a number of his brothers and sisters… How many parishes have been perverted, corrupted to their very centers by the scandal given by one priest!  In a college, in a school, one thoroughly bad child will entice into evil the greater part of his schoolfellows, and if the superiors do not arrest the contagion from its very commencement, by driving this black sheep out of their midst, the whole flock will surely be lost.  And finally, in a State, how incalculable are the evils, which, by a fatal necessity, are always produced by the immorality of a sovereign or by his irreligion!  Now, what is the conclusion to be drawn from all this?  That scandal is an immense evil.  He who has given scandal has but one chance of salvation, and that is by becoming entirely changed and setting a good example to those whom he formerly scandalized.
Human respect will often prove a stumbling-block; but we must gather courage; those who have dared to do evil must also dare to be repentant in the sight of all. [End quote]

We ARE our brother's keeper.

I've learned that each time I go to Confession, I have to very carefully reflect on the sin of scandal and take a good look at my life...sometimes I have more to confess than I first thought.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Book images from: http://www.princetonantiques.com/pab/product_info.php?products_id=9873

Quote Source: The Fountain of Catholic Knowledge – Published by the Office of Catholic Publications in the year 1900 [page 208-210]

Praise God! The Progressives are leaving!

The cleansing of God’s Holy Catholic Church has begun.  Oh it’s a slow process, but its happening and I am thrilled to see it.

When Priests and Bishops STAND UP for the official teachings of the Catholic faith and fight back against the bullying liberals/progressives in the Church a wonderful thing happens… a purging inside the Church.

Here are a few examples...

First an openly gay Jesuit priest left the Church because he was heartbroken that the Catholic Church won’t support gay marriage and he felt hated because he was gay…

Quote:  “Over time, I realized I could not be part of an institution that hated me. I thought of the anti-gay legislation in countries like Uganda and Russia. I didn’t want to be part of an organization with similar policies, where LGBT Catholics are fired for loving their partners, for being the selves God created, the selves God delights in.” [end quote]

Newsflash: God does NOT “delight in” homosexual relationships- He calls them ABOMINATIONS and gays "loving their partners" is called FORNICATION- a MORTAL SIN.  You'd think (hope & pray) that a priest (even a Jesuit) would at least know the basics of the Catholic faith!

The ex-Jesuit gay progressive priest whines some more…

Quote:  “I’ve since left the priesthood and have pursued a different religious life with the Episcopal church.  But I am not the only victim. LGBTQ Roman Catholics are being fired from employment, simply because of their sexuality.”

“victim”?  

How is he a “victim”?  He entered a Church that for THOUSANDS of years has said marriage is between 1 man+1 woman and when he sees the Church live that belief he suddenly becomes a “victim”? 

Oh BOO FREAKING HOO! 

The good news is this progressive ex-Jesuit has now gone to the Episcopalian’s where they vote on what is and is not sin and where he will no longer have the opportunity to corrupt Catholics from inside the Church. Think of all the future Catholics who will now be saved from listening to this progressive homosexual who sees nothing wrong with “gay loving partners”.  This IS a blessing for Catholic laity, though not for him unless he repents.

There is another cleansing victory...

Some gay “marriage” loving progressive 'Catholics' who like their fornicators fornicating, decided to leave their parish (St. Leo’s Catholic Church, Montana) when their Sodomite buddies were told they could no longer have Holy Communion because they were in MORTAL sin.  [Imagine that, a person being told they need to repent of their sin before receiving Holy Communion!]  

It started with a choir director [Shupe] who just couldn’t believe a Catholic parish would deny a fornicating gay “married” couple HOLY Communion and then spread to other parishioners just as stupefied as Shupe.

“Huff [one of the gay ‘marriage’ men in the controversy] walked out of the rectory and decided he better tell choir director Janie Shupe that neither he or Wojtowick would be able to help out that Saturday night. Shupe was distraught. She had moved to Lewistown 23 years before. For 20 of those years at St. Leo’s, she has served as director of music liturgy and choir director.
The choir of 30-plus people was like a second family, Shupe said. After Huff broke the news, “I just felt like my world had fallen out beneath me,” she said in a telephone interview Thursday. She called and spoke with [Father] Spiering. Unhappy with his response, she told the priest she’d turn in her resignation the next day."

“I can’t believe this is the church I believed in for so many years,” Shupe said. “I thought we were moving forward, and we did have a very joyous, very vibrant community going all these years. It feels like we’ve been thrust back in the dark ages.”  At first, she stopped going to church altogether. Then she decided to attend St. James Episcopal Church “because it’s the closest thing I’ve known my entire life.” [end quote]

“Thurst back in the dark ages” for following Catholic teaching about mortal sin and the Eucharist? 

Catechism

 1385 To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself." 218 Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.

1395 By the same charity that it enkindles in us, the Eucharist preserves us from future mortal sins. The more we share the life of Christ and progress in his friendship, the more difficult it is to break away from him by mortal sin. The Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins - that is proper to the sacrament of Reconciliation. The Eucharist is properly the sacrament of those who are in full communion with the Church.

Is her parish so lacking that she’s never heard this teaching?  That she doesn't know the Church says fornication and gay "marriage" are MORTAL sins?

Guess not, so she too sets off and joins the “vote on sin” Episcopal church where she can fully support fornication and gay sex and no one will tell her it’s a sin. 

More progressives are purged from the Church…

Quote from the priest Fr. Spiering who denied the gay couple Holy Communion:  “About 350 people attend weekend Mass at St. Leo’s. Some people have left since the conflict came to light, [Father] Spiering acknowledged, while others have expressed their gratitude for Spiering upholding the teachings of the church.”

You’d think the laity would be more concerned about the mortal sin these gay men are in, sin that sends people to Hell, but oh no!  They were too devastated that the gay lovers were denied Communion- no care at all for the homosexual couple’s souls headed for eternal torment in Hell.

Talk about having your priorities wrong!

 “However, they are called passions of ignominy because they are not worthy of being named, according to that passage in Ephesians (5:12): ‘For the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.’ For if the sins of the flesh are commonly censurable because they lead man to that which is bestial in him, much more so is the sin against nature, by which man debases himself lower than even his animal nature.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Super Epistulas Sancti Pauli Ad Romanum I, 26, pp. 27f) 

These type of sinners DO NOT BELONG IN THE CHURCH!  Really, the Bible says so![quote below]

Oh don’t get your panties in a bunch, I am not saying there are no sinners in the Church.  The Church is FULL of sinners as She should be.  She is the only one through Christ’s Sacraments that can absolve the sinner of their sins – provided the sinner confesses those sins and seeks absolution.  These are repentant sinners.  Sinners willing to admit when they fall, accepting Church authority and seeking to do a better job of turning from sin in the future.  That is key issue #1 (there is another).

Those are the sinners the Church was created for.   Sinners with a heart for God, sinners who hate their sin and wish to be forgiven for them.  Sinners who are contrite, humbled and asking for forgiveness.

The prideful sinners who refuse to acknowledge their sins or repent [that is the key issue #2 here] of their sins are NOT supposed to be holding leadership positions [be it religious education teachers, choir directors, ushers etc] in parishes corrupting others.  People in parish leadership positions are to be in GOOD moral standing with the Church.  They should NOT be abortionists, 'married' gay couples, adulterers/fornicators, etc who continue to wallow in their sins with no thought of repenting.

These sinners do NOT have a heart for God, they have a lust and greed and selfishness to continue living in their sin.  And often a desire to change society to accept their sin as “normal” and ultimately to redefine their sin as no sin at all. This happens all the time within assorted Protestant denominations and secular society, but it should NOT be allowed INSIDE Christ's Holy Catholic Church.

Note this scripture [below] is about those INSIDE THE CHURCH- not unbelievers whom we MUST reach out to with the Gospel Message so they can repent and enter the Church.  

The instruction from St. Paul in the Bible is for the Church to be CLEANSED of ALL the sexually immoral MEMBERS INSIDE the Church.  The Sacraments are to be denied to them (to all of us) who remain in Mortal Sin- that is our Faith. 

[*Yes, I know this scripture isn't JUST about homosexuals, but homosexuals and their supporters leaving the Church is the topic of this discussion*] 

The Church used to do this.  It’s call excommunication and it’s a rarity these days hence the tsunami of corruption flooding the Catholic Church today.'

1 Corinthians 5 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church 

5  1"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife. ² And you are arrogant! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this would have been removed from among you?³ For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present I have already pronounced judgment ⁴ in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵ you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

⁶ Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. ⁸ Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

  Sexual Immorality Must Be Judged

^{9 "}I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber. Do not even eat with such a one. ¹² For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? ¹³ God will judge those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you.”
 

Notice that bit there?  That we ARE to judge those INSIDE the Church based on their immoral behavior, while God will judge those OUTSIDE the Church.  
THAT is the Word of God.  

Also notice that Saint Paul says he "has already pronounced judgement" on the sexually immoral INSIDE the Church?  If Saint Paul is judging the sexually immoral why can't our Pope? 

I guess Pope Francis never read that verse.

So we ARE to judge those inside the Church by their sins [clearly these are visible sins- like gays getting 'married', etc]. Then we rebuke the sinner in their sin so they can repent.  They can't repent if no one tells them what sin they are in that needs to be confessed and repented of. 

If they repent, we slaughter the fattened calf and welcome them back and the angels in Heaven celebrate!

Luke 15:10(RSVCE) 10 "Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

If they REFUSE to repent and work to destroy and corrupt the Church from inside we are "to have nothing to do with them- do not even eat with such people".  THAT is what the Word of God says.

Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)  "No sin in the world grips the soul as the accursed sodomy; this sin has always been detested by all those who live according to God.… Deviant passion is close to madness; this vice disturbs the intellect, destroys elevation and generosity of soul, brings the mind down from great thoughts to the lowliest, makes the person slothful, irascible, obstinate and obdurate, servile and soft and incapable of anything; furthermore, agitated by an insatiable craving for pleasure, the person follows not reason but frenzy.… They become blind and, when their thoughts should soar to high and great things, they are broken down and reduced to vile and useless and putrid things, which could never make them happy.... Just as people participate in the glory of God in different degrees, so also in hell some suffer more than others. He who lived with this vice of sodomy suffers more than another, for this is the greatest sin."  [ St. Bernardine of Siena, Sermon XXXIX in Prediche volgari, pp. 896-897, 915. ]

There is NO PLACE inside the Holy Catholic Church for UNREPENTING sinners who seek to corrupt the Faith and turn people away from God's Truth.  These people are protesting the Faith- they are Protestants who live under the title "Catholic".  They seek the RUIN of Christ's Holy Catholic Church and the ruin of souls.  They are dangerous.  Sacred Scripture demands we “Drive out the evil person from among you!” [1 Cor. 5:13] for the good of everyone.

To be clear, I don't want these people to be lost, but I also don't want them corrupting the faithful INSIDE the Church and spreading their heretical beliefs to others.  I would LOVE to see them all repent and return to full communion with Christ's Holy Catholic Church- but that is entirely up to them.  They MUST admit they are in sin, confess their sins to a priest and truly repent- that is turn from their mortal sin, not embrace it and march with banners down Main street proudly trumpeting their sin.  

That is my prayer for them- true repentance, but while they are in mortal sin corrupting others with their ideas/theology I do NOT want to see them teaching religious education to children or adults, leading the choir, being ushers, deacons or priests or anything else. 

I am in fact happy to see these progressive liberals leaving the Church because it means they can do no more damage from inside the Church.  The purging of the Church is damage control.

Jesus doesn’t want the corrupt running loose inside His Church corrupting others and leading them into sin and to eternal Hell.  To prevent that from happening, we have Sacred Scripture's words telling us to “Drive out the wicked person from among you!”  I'm afraid Saint Paul's words are falling on too many deaf ears these days.

If only our Church would heed these instructions and protect us from the corrupt progressives inside our Church.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

One last interesting Saint quote [new to me] …

Saint Bonaventure, speaking in a sermon at the church of Saint Mary of Portiuncula about the miracles that took place simultaneously with the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, narrates this: “Seventh prodigy: All sodomites—men and women—died all over the earth, as Saint Jerome said in his commentary on the psalm ‘The light was born for the just.’ This made it clear that He was born to reform nature and promote chastity.” (St. Bonaventure, Sermon XXI—In Nativitate Domini, in Catolicismo (Campos/Sao Paulo), December 1987, p. 3; F. Bernardei, op. cit., p. 11)

Catholic Catechism: Chastity and homosexuality 

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,¹⁴¹ tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."¹⁴² They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

Source: http://helenair.com/news/local/no-resolution-in-sight-for-two-gay-men-and-lewistown/article_5f854162-be4a-5cd5-a3c4-f82e9b87f609.html

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/09/17/i-thought-i-could-be-a-gay-jesuit-priest-i-cant-believe-how-wrong-i-was/

Quotes:  http://www.fisheaters.com/forums/index.php?topic=3457508.40