Special thanks to Justin Bell (@ajustbell) for giving me permission to use the above photo for tonight's entry.  He was present for the Procession and took some really incredible photos. Looking through them, my eyes truly began to well up with gratitude for the outpouring of love for Christ within the Eucharist.  

Lord, You are loved. Forgive us for neglecting to show our love like this more often. 

By now, you've all heard of the repugnant event that was to be hosted on the Harvard campus.  I, like many of my Catholics, joined my brothers and sisters in Boston in a national show of solidarity through prayer, fasting and sacrifice. 

There is nothing more I can possibly say on this matter that hasn't already been outline hundreds of times by others who have written about this.  I will say, however, that I was incredibly hurt by such an event being promoted.  Physically, painfully hurt.  

So from 7pm until 8pm, I locked myself away and offered the hour in union with the entire Church.  I offered it in reparation for the mockery of Christ, I offered it for the conversion and repentance of those responsible, and I offered it for the strength and clarity of those with the power to stop it.  

There were no adoration hours available to me locally, so I chose to unite myself by reading about the Eucharist in a little booklet I picked up about a year ago.  It's been sitting in my drawer waiting for this day.  I pulled it out and spent the hour in prayerful reflection of the lessons contained within.

The booklet is titled The Most Blessed Sacrament and is written by Fr. Stephano Manelli, OFM.  I thought it fitting.  Fr. Manelli creates a quilt of reflections patched together by various saints who were entirely devoted to our Divine God hidden in the Eucharist.  

Folks just don't understand how Catholics can adore what - to them - amounts to be a cracker.  God would never, in their minds, appear as something so insignificant.  God is majestic - divine!  He would not stoop so low as to appear as bread and wine.  

And yet this is exactly who we know God to be.  This is precisely why we praise Him, honor Him and love Him.  The Divine and Unencompassable God consents to become the most base staple of nourishment so that He can mercifully feed us in an intimate and personal way.  That is how loving our God is.  He is not this mythical creature who is too self-important to care for His children.  Instead, He bends over backwards to be near to us.  He cares not for golden ciboriums or tabernacles encrusted with jewels; He years to take refuge within the depths of our soul.  He wishes to enjoin Himself to our deepest, truest essence so that He can fashion us to Him and make us more like Himself - divine.  

This is why Satan hates the Eucharist.  He can't stand that the Divine God humbles Himself so basely for the likes of humanity.  It is why he seeks to mock and sully the truest, most blessed gift ever given to humanity.

St. Augustine once exclaimed of the Eucharist, "Although God is all-powerful, He is unable to give more; though supremely wise, He knows not how to give more; though vastly rich, He has not more to give."

Why is this?  Because in the Eucharist, we are given God's Incarnate Son.  Jesus comes to us fully (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) to feed us and nourish our souls with effusions of Divine Grace.  God cannot give more than the gift of Himself in this humble form.  This blessed gift is the summation of His promise to be with us always.  

Methinks I'll be doing a lot more meditating on the Eucharistic Lord in the coming months.  The media still isn't entirely sure if the mockery took place or not.  Some reports are saying it happened in a Chinese restaurant across from campus, others are reporting that it has been pushed off indefinitely.  Either way, evil is beginning to get increasingly brazen, and a more constant meditation and show of Christian love is necessary to combat this treachery. 

Did any of you participate in the 7-8pm vigil?

Please be warned - the linked article has a moderately graphic image for some of you involving blood.  No bodies are shown, but blood smeared on the wall in letters is.

This is an article regarding the wave of anti-Christian crime that's been sweeping through Russia and the surrounding areas in the wake of the Riot sentencing.  A few people are now dead in connection to the crime-spree (whether capitalizing on the fame of the trial or not is to be determined) and countless churches and communities have been victimized through desecration, theft and violence. 

We are to be tried once more in the public square. Anti-Christian fervor is building, and we can expect more of this to spread even to within our own borders.

Arm yourselves, Church Militant. Prayer is your sword; the saints are your armor. Your battle cry is Truth and that Truth is Christ.

Let's say my mother is driving a car.  We're about to take a curve too harshly.  Considering there's a canyon to the left of us, if she continues speeding, we're likely to tumble into the abyss.

Do I refrain from telling her to slow down because I'm afraid I might hurt her feelings for criticizing her driving?

No.  I like my life.

Instead, I'd say, "Hey Mom, you need to apply the brakes because if you don't, we're likely to take a tumble neither one of us will enjoy."

Would I be judging my mother to be a bad driver?  No.

Would I be judging her behavior to be bad?  Yes.

Might she feel as though I'd judged her to be a bad driver?  Yes, it's a possibility.

If she feels as though I've passed a negative judgement on her, does that mean I have?  No.

Even knowing that she might have her feelings hurt as a result of my criticism, should I refrain from suggesting she slow down?  NO.

As I've said in previous entries, I simply do not have the personality to sit on the sidelines while someone is acting in a way that is either harmful to self or others.  I can't.  I automatically put a familiar face on these folks and my decision is made - political correctness be damned. 

That is exactly what we are asked to do as Catholics.  The quote "Judge not, lest ye be judged" is often given as a means to stifle this responsibility.  However, if we read juuust a little bit further, we'll come to understand that this misrepresented quote (found on everything from billboards to memes to T-shirts) means something much different than the sound byte it's utilized as.

Here is the quote in its entirety (from the New American Bible, so the wording is slightly changed):

Jesus said to His disciples: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”  Matt 7:1-5

In other words, use your God-given intellect to discern judgement.  It isn't necessarily meaning we should condemn, but it's certainly charging us with the responsibility of properly judging all things with equality.

In fact, there are quotes all over the Bible specifically commanding this of us.

In the gospels, Luke echoes Matthew in Chapter 6 with "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven... For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

John (7:24) relays Jesus saying "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteously."

In Proverbs (3:21), "Preserve sound judgement and discernment."

In the Letter of St. Paul to the Phillipians (1:9-11), "And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God."

And my favorite (also from Luke 6) stating, "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thorn bushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."

I'm successfully irritated.  My charity level is low to non-existent right now, so I apologize in advance.

There has been yet another striking blow to religious freedoms today... this time in Denmark. All over the world, governments are attempting to put religious freedom to death, and no one is any the wiser.  Why?  Because it's all being done under the guise of social justice.

Danish parliament has just passed a law making it MANDATORY for all churches in Denmark to provide homosexual marriage ceremonies.

Take a second and let that process (if you're not too busy hurling).

A government is attempting to FORCE entire religious communities to utilize their sacred houses of worship for a ceremony that goes directly against their religious beliefs as a people.

I'm beyond disgusted. 

Once again the issue of religious freedoms is ignored because folks are too busy crying foul over the issue of homosexuality.

I don't care if two men want to get hitched through civil unions.  Be my guest.  I draw the line, however, when those two men attempt making a mockery of our Sacrament by committing such a sacrilege in front of the Blessed Sacrament in a Catholic Church. 

As I said on Facebook, welcome to the reason I refuse to vote in favor of anyone trying to push this through our court system.

As I said in a previous entry, Australia is quickly following suit. The US won't be far behind.

I'm all for homosexuals getting hitched in churches that condone it. I am NOT okay with a government stepping in to force ANYONE to accept a union that cannot be recognized by aforementioned religion.

Catholic priests cannot "consecrate" a union that is considered abhorrent and inherently sinful. No matter how much a government wants to kick, scream and cry, a faithful Catholic priest cannot (and will not) call a blessing down upon that which is mortally sinful.

Even if one tried to, do you think God would say, "Ya know what?  Alright... since you asked so nicely, I'll be sure to go against that which I've stated - repeatedly - and reward you for your impressively arrogant disobedience."

Again, Lord, mercy. 

My friend, Christina, said something to me that has been bouncing around in my head for the last few days:

There's something about a fire that doesn't seem to burn you. [This] issue had fire written all over it and you just jumped on in like it was a bubble bath.

Ah... the story of my life.

Last week, when I wrote that "Alone" entry, I got several follow-up messages from the person the entry was originally about.  He gave me permission to post his story here, because I honestly think it's something that folks should be aware of, especially those of us who are active on Christian blogs / forums.

While I was chatting with some folks on a Christian forum, a young man timidly asked for advice with an issue he'd been struggling with.  We happily agreed to hear him out.  He identifies himself as homosexual, he's 19, and he still lives home with his "strict Christian parents."  He loves his parents dearly, but he hasn't "come out" to them, yet.  He was looking for advice on how to best do it without having them disown him.

Within minutes the thread was lighting up with comments like:

"It's a phase."                                        "Keep that to yourself until you get it fixed."
"You'll go to hell!"                                  "You SHOULD be disowned."
"Homosexuality is a disease."                                ETC...

Seriously.  I was absolutely FLOORED.  I immediately jumped in to dispel the notion that his sexuality was a one-way ticket to hell that needed to be exchanged through a one-night stand with a woman (suggested by a particularly vulgar member who, until that point, had been the most proper one of the bunch!).  I then pointed out that the various responses were less than Christian in content. 

You'd think I stumbled upon a hellmouth or something.  Not only was I trying to defend this person against attacks, I was on the receiving end, myself, with no hope of respite.  To say anything contrary to "Gays are evil, hell-bound freaks of nature" was tantamount to painting yourself with a bulls-eye and handing out arrows during open season.  I felt HORRIBLE because all that viciousness simply caused this young man to pull away, completely embarrassed, ashamed and hurt by the torrent of verbal abuse.  Worse, he assumed that response was a unanimously Christian one because no one took a stand against it!!!  Heaven forbid!

For the record:

Condemning a person is NOT CHRISTIAN CHARITY. 

Suggesting that they commit a mortal sin in order to "reverse" another perceived mortal sin is NOT CHRISTIAN CHARITY. 

Responding to a plea for help with vitriol and wishes for the emotional distress of family abandonment is NOT CHRISTIAN CHARITY.

This gentle young man and I have been blessed to have several discussions on this now.  He now understands that regardless of his sexuality, he is a body and soul created and loved by God.  He understands Catholic teaching on homosexuality, and though he doesn't agree with it, at least he doesn't believe Catholicism teaches he's got a sure-ticket to hell just for being attracted to other men.  He also feels better about talking to his parents about this.  After all, a parent's duty is to love above all else.  Heck, our job as humans is to love above all else.  Loving doesn't mean accepting the sins of another, but it DOES mean accepting the person for who they're made as and helping them carry the crosses uniquely granted by God to help them on their path towards Heaven.

Keep folks like this in your prayers.  It takes a lot of courage to be upfront about your deepest struggles, especially when you've got the whole world ready to rip into you. 

And this is why I tend to step into the fire with seemingly little regard for the flames.  On the other end of the verbal assault, someone is feeling the effects.  On the other side of the computer screen, someone is being made to feel subhuman.  When these hot-button conversations ignite, there is someone, somewhere being given a very incorrect view of Christianity through the poor examples of those who laud themselves as being the epitome of Christian practice.  I can't help but feel my own heart break for them. 

So yes.  I frequently involve myself in these types of conversations and threads because if I don't, who will?  Be the change you wish to see, right?  If I had kept my mouth shut and just allowed them to steamroll this person, what type of image would he have of Christianity?  Would there be no nugget of hope regarding coming out to his parents?

And what of the people who could easily have offered their own "Likes" or commentary to mine?  Instead of private messaging, they could have helped this young man feel something of the love of God.  Instead, he was left with a very bitter taste in his mouth, spoon-fed by supposedly loving Christians.

Our duty is not to stand by and allow such ill-feelings to spread.  Our duty as Christians is to love God by loving one another - not silently... not ashamedly... not timidly.  We are called to live our love out loud. 

If that means dancing in the fire, bring on the flames.