IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
“Abortion in Good Faith” and “Abortion Care”: These Phrases Are Nonsense
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
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This tiny baby has a Right to Life |
St. John Paul II said, “The cemetery of the victims of human cruelty in our century is extended to include yet another vast cemetery, that of the unborn.”
Krakow: The Pope and the Holocaust; I Am Proudly & Humbly Connected to Both*
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
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Forced deportation from the Krakow ghetto, 1942 wikipediacommons |
nd how these two unlikely people connected, got married and had two children, one of them our own mother. But it was so and that mystery will never be unraveled. We dubbed our long, lost, mysterious grandfather, Grandpa Irv. He and grandma split up when Mom and Uncle Larry were young children. Grandpa Irv died in the Bronx in 1965. We will never know more than I revealed here.
*This article also appeared in Aleteia. org on July 28,2016
Pope Francis–The Foremost Ambassador of Humility
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
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Pope Francis |
Pride vs the Humility of Pope Francis
By Larry Peterson
Pope Francis: Pride, Humility and the Gospel of the Day After
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
Pope Francis has gone back to Rome. Sigh–I miss him. I live in central Florida so the closest he ever got to me was probably about 330 miles away and that was in a foreign country, Cuba. The closest I got to him in the United States was when he traveled to Washington, D.C. which is over 900 miles away. No matter, I do miss him. His gentle, kind and loving face was all over the TV screen since last Tuesday. I have been among his captive audience. It was so uplifting and refreshing watching this apostle of Christ and descendant of St. Peter do his thing and, on TV no less, for all the world to see.. Yes, I miss him.
The Pope left last night at about 8 p.m. At 8 a.m this morning I was at morning Mass. The gospel reading for the day blew me away. This reading was not in place to reflect his visit but it did. The reading was scheduled for today and put in place on the universal church calendar several years ago. So, it is pure coincidence this gospel reading and his visit overlapped. If not, it was inspired from above. (That one works for me).
This is from the Gospel of Luke; Chapter 9: vs 46-50
An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest.
Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
For the one who who is least among all of you is the one who is greatest.”
This gospel reading is all about the greatest of all the ‘deadly’ sins, Pride. It is also about the greatest of all ‘heavenly’ virtues, Humility. This is a “clash of the titans” of evil vs Good. And Pope Francis, without trying and by just being who God made him to be, wore the mantle of humility without fanfare, showmanship, pretentiousness or anything that might be self-serving in any manner. Yes, he wore that mantle and it was fastened to his shoulders with the clasp of Love. In so doing he showed the whole world what it means to think of yourself last before all others. (Was that a Fiat Hatchback?)
Jorge Mario Bergoglio never asked to be a bishop or a cardinal. He never “lobbied” for these positions or sought them out in any way. He did not have “super-pacs” at his beckoned call when the vacancy for Pope opened. He simply loved being a priest, working with the poor and homeless and doing his best to follow God’s call so he would make his life pleasing to Him. Make no mistake, God called him to the papacy. The secular world would mock that concept but that is why they cannot experience the joy so many millions of faithful experienced in America over the past week. If they could only swallow their damn pride a bit and open their hearts they may find the elusive peace that evades them.
Pope Francis is filled with the Holy Spirit. That Spirit leads him to stop his motorcade and wade into a crowd of children and hug them and kiss their foreheads. It compels him to embrace the crippled, the disfigured, the mentally challenged, the homeless as well as the “uppity-ups”. He has no qualms about walking into a prison and embracing hard-core murderers, rapists, thieves, and drug dealers.
After seeing President Obama and offering Mass during his stop in Washington, D.C. he made a point of going to the offices of the Little Sisters of the Poor. He had to send a message to the entire world about the solidarity that exists within the Church when it comes to respect for life, ALL life. That message required no words—just action. The Pope gave that message by meeting with the Sisters who take care of the elderly poor, free of charge and have been doing so since St. Jeanne Jugan founded the order back in 1841 .
Pope Francis has left our country. He has left it a more contented and inspired nation. He has reached out to everyone and many have responded. He represents the Goodness and Love that Jesus Christ brought to us. He is His ambassador on earth. He did his work well. If this had been a baseball game it would have been called “Perfect”. But now it is over and the Prideful will resurface.
Thanks for the grace, inspiration, love and memories Holy Father. We have to get you back here more often.
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
Redux from June, 2015: Laudato Si is a Spiritual Document for Everyone; It is NOT Political
As I watched Pope Francis on the tarmac at Andrew’s AFB being surrounded by all the smiling, back-slapping secularist driven politicians who have been spitting in the very face of so many (myself included) intolerant, homophobic, hateful and mean spirited, Catholic/Christians, I knew I was viewing nothing more than “smiling” hypocrisy being confronted by a man filled with Love, Kindness, and a bit of Innocence. Anyway, I thought I would repost my blog on Laudato Si from June of this year.
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
“Laudato Si” is here and I think many people are thinking/suggesting,accusing/ (pick your own medicine) that Pope Francis has turned into a “pol”. Yup, he is just another politician on the world stage trying to advance an ideology. So everyone had better take a deep breath. Pope Francis has released a magnificent piece of work that demonstrates how WE (air/water/ trees/marine-life/plants/animals and human beings are all interrelated and depend on each other. Think how true that all is.
The earth is, in fact, our primary home. The sun and the rain nourish the earth’s soil and it gives forth food for animals and people. Some animals eat only plants and then other animals may feed on them (ie: Impalas feed on plants and grass while lions are carnivores and eat Impalas). People feed and survive from the plants and the animals. There is a magnificent balance in nature and we human beings are the most intricate part of it. That is because we are not only the ones who can nurture it, we are also the ones who can harm and destroy it. This is what the Holy Father is telling us. Start taking responsibility for our primary home, the planet we live on.
Pope Francis has nailed it. We are all an extension of each other in this world. Laudato Si reflects the very first chapter of the Bible: The Story of Creation (Please, before reading Laudato Si, re-read the first Chapter of Genesis).
At the end of the first chapter, v28-29; God blessed them saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” God also said: See, I give you every seed bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened, God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good. Evening came and morning followed, the sixth day.
Pages and pages have already been written about this encyclical. It is being torn apart and analyzed by many and then all of these folks are offering their opinions as to what the document REALLY says. Naturally, almost all viewpoints differ. How fortunate we are to have such a wide variety of “expert” opinions to choose from. Well, here is an opinion no-one really gives much credence to–my own.
My opinion is simply this–Laudato Si is foremost a spiritual document reflecting the Word of God as set down in the very beginning of the Bible. God’s primary creation, people, were given dominion over all things on Earth. The Pope is reminding us that we are all connected and all depend on each other and have to nurture and look out for each other. The plants, the animals, the air, the sea, all do what they have to do without reason. They just DO.
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On the other hand, we, the people, reason and think. We have pride and ego and greed infiltrates many of our species. We have poured poisonous chemicals into our pure waters, we have polluted the air and sea and lakes, we have destroyed the rain forests. I need not go on. Laudato Si tells us to take care of our primary home, Mother Earth. It is the responsibility of all of us. It is not political but that it is how it will be viewed.
I, for one, wish to thank Pope Francis for “smacking us upside the head” and reminding us that our planet is more than a big blue marble. It is our primary home. Therefore, it is our God given responsibility to keep our home neat and clean.
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©Larry Peterson 2015 All Rights reserved
Make No Mistake: The Encyclical, Laudato Si, is Primarily a Spiritual Document. It is NOT Political.
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
“Laudato Si” is here and I think many people are thinking/suggesting,accusing/ (pick your own medicine) that Pope Francis has turned into a “pol”. Yup, he is just another politician on the world stage trying to advance an ideology. So everyone had better take a deep breath. Pope Francis has released a magnificent piece of work that demonstrates how WE (air/water/ trees/marine-life/plants/animals and human beings are all interrelated and depend on each other. Think how true that all is.
The earth is, in fact, our primary home. The sun and the rain nourish the earth’s soil and it gives forth food for animals and people. Some animals eat only plants and then other animals may feed on them (ie: Impalas feed on plants and grass while lions are carnivores and eat Impalas). People feed and survive from the plants and the animals. There is a magnificent balance in nature and we human beings are the most intricate part of it. That is because we are not only the ones who can nurture it, we are also the ones who can harm and destroy it. This is what the Holy Father is telling us. Start taking responsibility for our primary home, the planet we live on.
Pope Francis has nailed it. We are all an extension of each other in this world. Laudato Si reflects the very first chapter of the Bible: The Story of Creation (Please, before reading Laudato Si, re-read the first Chapter of Genesis).
At the end of the first chapter, v28-29; God blessed them saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” God also said: See, I give you every seed bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened, God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good. Evening came and morning followed, the sixth day.
Pages and pages have already been written about this encyclical. It is being torn apart and analyzed by many and then all of these folks are offering their opinions as to what the document REALLY says. Naturally, almost all viewpoints differ. How fortunate we are to have such a wide variety of “expert” opinions to choose from. Well, here is an opinion no-one really gives much credence to–my own.
My opinion is simply this–Laudato Si is foremost a spiritual document reflecting the Word of God as set down in the very beginning of the Bible. God’s primary creation, people, were given dominion over all things on Earth. The Pope is reminding us that we are all connected and all depend on each other and have to nurture and look out for each other. The plants, the animals, the air, the sea, all do what they have to do without reason. They just DO.
|
On the other hand, we, the people, reason and think. We have pride and ego and greed infiltrates many of our species. We have poured poisonous chemicals into our pure waters, we have polluted the air and sea and lakes, we have destroyed the rain forests. I need not go on. Laudato Si tells us to take care of our primary home, Mother Earth. It is the responsibility of all of us. It is not political but that it is how it will be viewed.
I, for one, wish to thank Pope Francis for “smacking us upside the head” and reminding us that our planet is more than a big blue marble. It is our primary home. Therefore, it is our God given responsibility to keep our home neat and clean.
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©Larry Peterson 2015 All Rights reserved
Witnessing the Genocide of the American Moral Fiber
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
The 100th Anniversary of “The Great Crime” is upon us. The killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire began on April 24, 1915. That was the day the Ottoman authorities rounded up 250 Armenian leaders and intellectuals in Constantinople and began the killings. The starving, the death marches, the drownings, shootings, hangings and other various implementations of painful death ended sometime after the end of World War I. Records indicate that over 1.5 million people perished in the first recorded genocide of the 20th century. This “Great Crime” is also known as the Armenian Genocide.
Last week, Pope Francis used the word “genocide” when he was describing what happened a century ago. The Turkish Foreign Minister immediately recalled his ambassador to the Holy See for ‘consultations’. The Turkish government (Turkey is the nation that replaced the Ottoman Empire) does not like it when you call the Armenian Genocide a genocide. They would probably prefer to make believe nothing ever happened in the first place.
Unlike Pope Francis, President Barack Obama avoided offending the Turkish government. He refused, once again, to call Armenian carnage a ‘genocide’. He had promised to do so when campaigning for president in 2008. Now, seven years later, he never has but the White House issued a statement read by an official which said, “We know and respect that there are some who are hoping to hear different language this year. We understand their perspective, even as we believe that the approach we have taken in previous years remains the right one — both for acknowledging the past, and for our ability to work with regional partners to save lives in the present.”
The Armenian-Americans were hurt and disillusioned at the disrespect they had been shown. Ken Hachikian, the chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America said, “President Obama’s surrender to Turkey represents a national disgrace. It is, very simply, a betrayal of truth, a betrayal of trust.”
To date, twenty-three countries have recognized the mass killings as genocide. The United States of America is not among them. In fact, because of “political expediency”, it never has called these mass killings genocide. Interestingly, the word genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin who, during the Nazi Holocaust, came up with the word based on the Armenian annihilation.
Ignoring the Armenian Genocide is just the very “tip of the iceberg”. Lies are told all the time across the politically charged American landscape. It does not even seem to matter anymore. WIN! WIN! WIN! is the pathetic mantra of our young 21st century political environment. I know politics has always been a “dirty game” but there was some honor and integrity involved, especially when we were talking about the very fabric of our nation. Common sense did take priority over “political correctness”. Not anymore.
Former Senate Majority leader, (now Minority Leader) Harry Reid, took to the floor of the United States Senate and accused the Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney, of not paying taxes for over ten years. Recently, when asked about it, he admitted he lied. He smirked smugly and said, “He didn’t win, did he?” And lying from the Senate floor as Majority Leader, Harry Reid could not be held accountable for it. A fine example for Americans young and old.
We are witnessing the genocide of virtually all Catholic/Christians in the Middle east. We see and hear of it every day. With modern technology it is up close and personal. We see beheadings, shootings, burning people alive, even crucifixions within hours after they happen. Where is the outcry from the people of the world? Where is the demand to slam these barbaric, satanically fueled monsters perpetrating these acts back into the hell they crawled out of?
The President of the United States does not even call them “terrorists”. The mainstream media in America puts the stories on the back pages. We are told our worst enemy is “Climate Change”. Ignoring truth and preaching for political expediency is an insult to all of us and an abomination of the American character. We could be, in addition to the genocide of Christians, be witnessing the genocide of the American moral fiber.
What ever is going on? What ever has happened to a country that was the “Shining City on the Hill”? I guess it has been taken hostage by self-serving impostors who care, before all else, about power, position and money. In 20 months maybe we can recapture that “Shining City”. And maybe I am just an old fool who still believes in the slogan from the old Superman comics: Truth; Justice; and the American Way. Did they really say that?
©2015 Larry Peterson All Rights Reserved
Remembering Nauman Masih, age 14, Killed for Being Christian
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Nauman Masih, age 14, beaten and burned because he was a Christian. He died on April 14, 2015. |
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
The picture is of 14 year old, Nauman Masih. On Friday, April 10, he was walking home in Pakistan when he was stopped by some young men. They asked him if he was a Christian. He replied “Yes.”
The boy was not “smart” enough to “lie”. The fact of the matter is, he was PROUD that he was Christian and was not about to deny it. He tried to run but he was chased down and beaten. Then the group of demonic cowards poured gasoline all over him, lit him on fire and ran away. Along with the flames, I cannot even imagine the fear, pain and anguish they engulfed this fledgling teenager. Nauman, his skinny body ablaze and his skin melting away, managed to crawl to a nearby pile of sand and began rolling around to smother his burning flesh. Passers-by helped and got him to the hospital. He lived long enough to tell what had happened.
Yesterday, April 14, his is suffering ended. Nauman Masih, Pakistani teenager, died. He died a martyr, murdered for his faith. All of us Christians, being his brothers and sisters in faith, can only imagine the wondrous peace and joy that was awaiting Nauman as he passed from this life. We must also remember his family and pray for them for their grief is a fresh wound that will take much time to heal. Our prayers will help their healing process.
Today WE Catholic/Christians are being slaughtered. Throughout Europe, in Syria, Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria, Iraq, Pakistan and other places, tens of thousands of our brothers and sisters in faith are brutally murdered by being shot, beheaded, burned alive, starved and even crucified. Why is this happening? Because the satanic fueled HATRED toward followers of Jesus Christ knows no bounds. We here in the United States are only being spared because we live here. We just happened to be blessed by where we are. But even here, in America, there are those who would kill us all, simply for loving Jesus Christ. We certainly are under a relentless verbal attack.
Pope Francis stood tall Sunday when he called out the Ottoman Turks for perpetrating the first Genocide of the 20th century. The Turkish government was not happy and recalled their ambassador. The want to deny the fact that over one million Armenian Catholics were killed from 1915 thru 1917 by the trio of Muslim Turkish leaders known as the Young Turks. Then along came Adolf Hitler who hated the Jews and orchestrated the genocide known as the Holocaust. Hitler declared his actions were “in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator”. (Why do evil people always seem to claim they are doing “God’s will”?) Besides six million Jews another six million people were also slaughtered during his maniacal reign.
Adolf Hitler was the personification of evil during the 20th Century. Josef Stalin of Russia rivaled Hitler as he was responsible for the annihilation of almost 25 million of his own people during his reign. This included over seven million during his “forced famine” of 1932-1933.
During the 20th century genocide has occurred in China, Nazi Germany, Cambodia (under Pol Pot), in Rwanda and in Bosnia. Countless millions of people just like us (whether Catholic/Christian, Jewish, and Muslim), have been exterminated for their personal beliefs. We are now in the 15th year of the 21st century. Like locusts devouring a field of wheat, Muslim fanatics called ISIS, Al-Queda, Boko-Haram, Hamas, or whatever else they choose to call themselves, commit their evil in the name of Allah unencumbered and free to have their fill. They rape, burn, kidnap. behead, hang, crucify and do whatever other vicious, evil thing they can do to strike FEAR into their “enemy”. Where is the world’s outrage? Who will defend the Nauman Masihs of the world? Who will stand up for the women and children and babies that are objects of this incomprehensible evil? Is not GOOD required to confront EVIL? I believe it is.
Tomorrow, on April 16 at 10 a.m., the entire nation of Israel will stop doing whatever they are doing. Sirens throughout the country will begin to wail, traffic will stop, people will exit their vehicles and stand erect. This will continue for two minutes in honor of all those who perished in the Holocaust. On this Holocaust Remembrance Day it may be time for the Christian world to stand up at 10 a.m., along with our Jewish brothers and sisters. The genocide of today is now directed at all of us who are part of the Judeo-Christian connection.
copyright©Larry Peterson 2015 All Rights Reserved