This is My Country

The Country I Knew

The country I grew up in was an idyllic place; people cared about each other, and even though we all had differences, they took a back seat to simply being human.

The country I grew up in was deeply religious, and while those without religion were looked upon with a little suspicion, when their homes burned down or if they had an accident and needed help and support in the days, weeks, or even months following, everyone was there to lend a hand with casseroles, hotdishes, housework,  yard work, or just a listening ear. Even more so, people got together to make sure Emergency Services could get to them more quickly if such a tragedy happened again, to anyone.

The country I grew up in had its problems, but those problems were not inflicted upon the children; things that belonged to the world of adulthood were relegated to adults, and those things that belonged to childhood were relegated to children, and the lines did not cross.

The country I grew up in was deeply Patriotic and flags flew from most homes, without harassment from anyone except the local neighborhood ragtag group of delinquents. Whom were always known to be from certain families and tolerated, still treated with respect and told where to go when they needed to be told where to go. They also knew they were under surveillance by pretty much everyone and that kept them in line until they got older, and then they went to California and did what they wanted to do and got murdered. True story.

The country I grew up in had respect for other countries and other beliefs, looked well upon people of good will and encouraged learning languages for the purpose of friendship and communication. Racism was not tolerated in my redneck corner of the world, and although it might have been a very "white" place, certain words were never used and we were taught to treat EVERYONE with respect, no matter how different they were. That went for babies, people of few means, people with "mental retardation" (one of whom actually helped me learn how to ride a bike), those of other races, and those who simply were mean old ladies who regarded everyone around her with suspicion. Respect. Always. Respect and kindness were the keys to the world; the Golden Rule:  "Treat others as you would like to be treated."  Pithy saying, but hard truth. Even if treated badly, don't lose that adage.

The country I grew up in had a spine; our past leaders spoke of "Walking softly but carrying a big stick."  Kindness and respect were important, but that did not mean lying down and allowing oneself to be treated like a doormat. Not personally, not professionally, not in terms of sovereignty

The country I grew up in respected Veterans, celebrated our Patriotism, knew our enemies and made no apologies about it.

The country I grew up in had good education that focused on the foundations of knowledge and prepared students for the real world in matters of reason, language, history, science, reading, music....and many other matters. Even though I grew up in a time of transition, I'm glad to have been there then, when education hadn't been taken over by immoral hacks and the foundation was maybe cracked but still intact. That education gave me a respect for my country and the ability to strive for more.

The country I grew up in encouraged subsidiarity along with solidarity so that no one ever had to fight their battles alone, but could do so with their peers.

The country I grew up in believed in the right to free speech, the right to religious observance, and the right to bear arms....all fundamental rights belonging to the human person under Natural Law and basic common sense, and coherent with the ability to live life, freedom, and pursue happiness.

My Country Now

 The country I live in now is comprised of people who are isolated from each other and even in tight quarters, don't interact very much and differences reign supreme and separate us all.

The country I live in now attacks religion (except for Islam, which it idealizes, which even Muslims think is weird especially given what their terrorist factions have done to this country and the people of the world on our soil.). And now if someone's home burns down or someone suffers a tragedy, no one notices or if they do, they go on record to talk to reporters about the person involved, just to be on TV. Not that they ever knew the person to begin with; and if the person involved was "religious" they are painted as a fanatic of some sort because "that kind of devotion is just not normal."

The country I live in now actively inflicts its problems upon our children, and socially indoctrinates the children in adult issues without the knowledge or permission of the parents, inflicting tough moral inconsistencies upon them while refusing to allow the parents to "opt their children out" of such psychological engineering.

The country I live in now actively works to remove the American flag from the homes of disabled Veterans who gave their hearts, souls, and limbs to protect the freedoms we no longer enjoy.

The country I live in now pampers delinquents and criminals while systematically disarming her legal, law-abiding citizens in the name of "public safety".

The country I live in now looks to the worst decisions and practices of other countries and inflicts it through illegal means upon our sovereignty, against the will of We the People, bringing tyranny to our States while telling us we need to be "tolerant", all while refusing to tolerate our very foundations as a country and the right of the People to be heard, to overcome, and to be save in our homes from the tyranny of the government.

The country I live in now creates situations designed to bring division, instigated by the government, fueled by the biased media, and tolerates no dissent against enforced racism and political division.

The country I live in now advocates the outright legally-imposed slaughter of the most innocent among us; unborn children. Especially those belonging to minorities, evidenced by the fact Planned Parenthood abortion clinics are mostly found in neighborhoods with a high demographic of races who are not white, all planned by racist Gloria Steinem, and our government is still saying that this is a good idea and even with an African president, killing his own children, he is being adored. This is the country I live in, killing her children in the name of...what?

The country I live in now is bereft of proper discourse and any disagreement descends into a political and  personal attack, so issues are never properly discussed, but only deflected in hostility. You can see it live on C-SPAN in Congressional hearings right along bi-partisan lines.

The country I live in now pays those serving in the military so little that their families have to live on food stamps in spite of the fact they are serving our country with their very LIVES.  At the same time, "elected" officials are pulling off triple digits FOR LIFE. With no actual risk to themselves other than political lampooning on Saturday Night Live, unless they're Obama Democrats, in which case they're safe from any actual insult.

The country I live in now sells weapons to terrorist nations to be used to murder Christians live on TV, like in Egypt and Syria, just for example. At the same time, my country actively works to disarm loyal citizens who want only to protect themselves and their families from the wolves, yet can't get ammo since it's been confiscated to be sent to Syria to kill Christians.

I live in a country where maybe we can still get guns, but the ammo that makes them useful against home invaders? In Syria and Egypt.

The country I live in now has a very strong citizen population; those of us who have not been compromised by the gospel of obedience to government overlords are wide awake and the knowledge of what's coming makes us lose sleep at night because we know we are no longer protected from the enemy, for the enemy is WITHIN our borders, and has been actively ELECTED in a fraudulent vote by stymied voters. Twice.

The country I live in now looks for handouts instead of looking for a way to work for a living, looking instead for the government to "save" us, even though we're now a sinking ship in an ocean of immorality and deception.

The country I live in now stymies free speech in the name of "tolerance", stymies the free practice of religion in the name of "birth control" and "tolerance", and stymies the right to bear arms in the name of "public safety" even though lawful citizens are already sacrificing for the safety of all, all ready to put themselves in harm's way in order to protect their own family or any innocent person.

The country I live in has criminalized the People and has made us all an enemy of the State, simply for being...Citizens of These United States.

We the People may still be Citizens, and this may still be the Home of the Brave, but we are no longer the Land of the Free.

The country I live in now hasn't geographically changed, but this country is no longer the one to which I was born. And it's time for We the People to take it back. 

Memorial Day

The boy only wanted to give Mother something

And all of her roses had bloomed
Looking at her as he came rushing in with them
Knowing her roses were doomed
All she could see were some thorns buried deep
And the tears that he cried as she tended his wounds


And she knew it was love
It was one she could understand
He was showing his love
And that's how he hurt his hands

He still remembers that night as child

On his mother's knee
She held him close and she opened her bible
And quietly started to read

And seeing a picture of Jesus he cried out
"Momma, he's got some scars just like me."

And he knew it was love
It was one he could understand
He was showing his love
And that's how he hurt his hands

Now the boy's grown and moved out on his own
When Uncle Sam comes along
A foreign affair, but our young men were there
And luck had his number withdrawn
It wasn't that long till our hero was gone
He gave to a friend what he learned from the cross

But they knew it was love
It was one they could understand
He was showing his love
And that's how he hurt his hands

It was one they could understand
He was showing his love
And that's how he hurt his hands

~ The Hand Song, Nickel Creek
lyrics by Sean Watkins & David Puckett

Thank you, to all our Veterans, for giving to us all what you learned from the Cross. We will always remember those who have paid the ultimate price in service to our country.

Church Militant

What does it mean to be a member of the "Church Militant"? Have you ever considered it?


As soon as you're Confirmed, though...you're a member. You're in the Army. You're a Marine. You're in the Navy, and you're doing flyovers in the Air Force. Or maybe you're National Guard, filling all roles, or perhaps the Coast Guard, focusing not on combat, but on rescue and reparation. (I think I'm a Coastie...)

Congratuations, Catholic...you're a Militant now. And it's true.

But have you accepted your role, and do you have ANY IDEA what it means? Do you understand your commission? Do you realize that this is war?

We are all given different charisms; each according to God's terms. It is HE who calls us to service. It is He who assigns, it is He who commandeers our battles. And it is He who suffers the most (unlike the military found in humanity).

Are you aware that we are all OBLIGATED to defend our faith? It is a requirement of BAPTISM, further emphasized by CONFIRMATION.

But fear not..."defending" your faith means a lot of things.

Some interpret it to mean that we must fight tooth and nail against dissenters by declaring heresies, and in general hurl insults at people who simply don't understand our beliefs. Others think that it means harsh debate that denigrates into name-calling. Neither of the above models "defends" anything other than Pride.

Seek the fruits...follow the truth. What is true defense?

There are some who are gifted debaters. The Early Church was FULL of such souls; St. Justin Martyr was one of them. He wrote the first Apology (defense), Apologia, explaining what it meant to partake in the flesh of Christ (among other things). St. John Chrysostom, St. Cyprian, St. Cyril....all were wonderful debators. And in their debate, they did not denegrate the other who opposed them; rather, they upheld the One who sustained them.

The great art of debate has been lost in our culture, and we should not understand the term according to what plays out before us on the national stage, edited by the media.

Even today, there are those who are gifted in debate in defense of our faith. They key to defense in this regard is charity (divine love), for we are all called to defend our faith in LOVE.

Not out of animosity. Not out of anger. Not out of self-serving righteousness. Not out of the "I'm-right-and-you're-a-twit" Syndrome. Pride has no place in the defense of the Faith, in defense of Christ.

Yet some are called to a certain form of debate, for they have, for the most part, often found the balance: Apologists. Not all "apologists" provide a good example, however, those who are the most effective are coherent, intelligent, well grounded, well formed, and even-tempered. Religion is a topic that often gets heated very quickly; those who are truly called to defend the Faith in this way are those who can deflect the arrows of a hot-tempered opponent or cohort, and thus maintain a calm spirit in the face of inflammatory attacks. In short, they hold fast to reason and their own passions.

WHAT NOT TO DO

I used to frequent a Catholic website with a forum for Apologetics, and in fact, I learned a great deal there. However, once I found my place in the Church, the forum become tiresome because simple, innnocent questions often were denigrated into flame wars...even among the friendly! I still remember asking a question in a "Miscellaneous" forum, and the self-appointed "apologists" who jumped all over what I'd said, making accusations, leaping to amazingly weird conclusions, claiming all sorts of knowledge which had not been alluded to or needed. I ended up defending a friend implied but not named in my original question, as all sorts of weird heresies were attributed to him.

Those people may style themselves as apologists...they were, in fact, twits in the faith. (Sorry, that's just how it is.) So prideful they couldn't bother to read the actual question and answer it. It was more important to some to appear to know all, to quote all documents to refute questions that had not been asked.

I really no longer frequent that forum...it's too draining to defend and define, word by word, the simplest of questions when the original post has been deconstructed repeatedly by these strange people.

TRUE DEFENSE

The best defense is a good offense.

We've all heard it. We know...but to the above-described set, their missives on blogs and in forums is the offense: Put it out there, just DARE someone to refute it! And many don't even realize that the stuff they put out there is in error. Or just angry ranting. (I have engaged in this very thing myself.)

Anger doesn't beget conversions, people. You might be doing well in riling up the already-angry crowd, but really, how is our Lord going to see that as you go to your Judgment?

We all have to remember...even though we CAN rile people up, should we? What is the ultimate consequence? If we are angry, should we beget anger? What is the good in that?

Let us remember that Christ was reviled, and we should all have cause to be completely, fully outraged. Yet he accepted His cross and invited us to do the same. Anger has no place when we consider the cross of Christ in the defense of the Faith. The two simply contradict one another.

Yes, there ARE times for righteous anger...but that needs to be carefully discerned and not used in the service of Pride.

CONVERSION

Those of you who have left the Church and returned...what was it that evangelized you? Those of you who have come into the Church...what was it that called you Home?

Was it harsh debate, name-calling, or so-called righteous anger?

Or was it a personal connection, a friend willing to listen, someone willing to answer your questions, with honesty but without judgment directed at you?

The defense of the Faith to which we are all called does not ASK for Charity; it DEMANDS it. It DEMANDS that we put aside our own issues in order to serve what is needed in the other. It does not demand compromise; it only demands a willingness to listen, a willigness to explain, to teach, to find what is common...to synthesize, and encourage another to come to their OWN conclusion. For the only conclusion is Truth...but truth is found through reason, not force.

Yup. True evangelization appeals to reason. We must allow those who come to us to be themselves, to believe what they believe, and through honest dialogue, help direct them to what is good. We do not change what we believe or sugar-coat, however, we cannot preach fire-and-brimstone to someone sincerely seeking redemption; they are not necessarily ready for that message. That is a message for the converted...at least in our society. Yet there are those who would be terrified of that, and frightened away forever. There are others who do need that message in order to come back to the faith...and it leads to a fuller understanding. Each soul has different needs, but NONE needs vitriol.

We must discern...which message, for which person?

On a blog, we don't know. We are all given different gifts, and sometimes the harsh messages are necessary, for they are truthful. Yet we must take care for our delivery.


SO WHAT IS A TRUE DEFENSE?

Love. Real, honest love. Charity. It is a weapon that cannot be defeated.

We must SHINE. We aren't Saints; we can't even pretend to be so. Yet even through that oily sheen of sin that clings to us, staining us, others can see our attempts, our desires to be holy, our hope in Jesus Christ. And that attracts them.

The best defense is a good witness; the best defense is an honest witness; the best defense is a witness willing to suffer. Because it's often the witnesses who take the fall. It was true in the time of Christ, and it is true in our current times.

We are called to defend our Faith and give reason for our hope; it is synonymous to say we are called to love Christ and exemplify Christ to the world.

We don't all have to be geniuses, or eloquent debators, or angelic doctors; we only have to live our faith. That's it. Because a life well lived is the best reference; our relationship with Jesus means more than all the books of the Bible memorized and catalogued. Do you realize why Catholic Churches have stained glass, etched stones, and statues? Because not everyone could read; not everyone was educated. Cathedrals contain our faith summarized in pictures. It educates the poor. And it glorifies God; every color, every panel, every inch of decoration points to the Lord and gives definition to our Faith. It is Scripture and Tradition in pictures.

All we have to do is love God, let Him shine through us, consciously...and He will do the rest.

Are you ready? Are you willing to accept this mission? You have already been called...now it's time to serve.