Pope Francis–The Foremost Ambassador of Humility

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IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson                                      

 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 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 it makes me think about Pope Francis with his innocent smile and his natural affinity to children and the disabled and downtrodden. It makes me realize that the most famous man on the planet is also the most humble.
 Pope Francis, without trying and by just being who God made him to be, wears this mantle of humility without fanfare, showmanship, pretentiousness or anything that might be self-serving in any manner.

Pope Francis

Yes, he wears that mantle and it is always fastened to his shoulders with the clasp of Love. In so doing he shows the whole world what it means to think of yourself last before all others. (Don’t you love the black shoes he wears)?
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 mocks that concept but that is why they cannot experience the joy the faithful experience when he visits other countries and millions of these folks turn out to see him, waving and singing and even crying as he goes by. 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 the successor to St. Peter. He 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.
During his stop in Washington, D.C. last year, the Pope visited with President Obama and then, after offering Mass in the Cathedral, made a point of going to the offices of the Little Sisters of the Poor. He was sending 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. The fact that the Holy Father had just visited with the President of the United States surrounded by the opulence attached to the visit and then, after being cheered by millions as he headed to the Cathedral, mattered not. His smile was broadest while he spent his short time with the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Pope Francis leaves every country he visits a more contented and inspired nation. He reaches out to everyone and many respond. And the reason is so basic; he represents the Goodness and Love that Jesus Christ brings to us. He is His ambassador on earth. He does his work well. But, as is the way of things, after he leaves a place, the pride that consumes humankind comes back and makes itself known again. The good news is, after a Papal Visit, pride has fewer followers.
Thank you Holy Father, for the grace, inspiration, love and example you give us. Hopefully we can get you back to America soon. Our country could use a booster shot of humility, especially in the political arena.

                                         ©Larry Peterson 2016  All Rights Reserved

The Catholic Church—Saying “NO” to a World Screaming “YES”

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IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

By Larry Peterson

How did the precepts of ethics and morality, based on the Ten Commandments and the “Golden Rule”, become a pariah to so many? How did these principles ever become inverted?  Why have they seemingly been tossed by many into the dumpster of the outdated and irrelevant?
There is one critical aspect that drives this onslaught and I think we do not pay close enough attention to it. Those that are flailing away at our religious heritage and freedoms are not committing these attacks on their own. They have a brilliant, diabolical, hate-consumed leader inspiring them onward.
Their leader’s name is Satan and he is the Master of deceit and deception. Satan’s biggest and most hated enemy after Jesus Christ is the church that Jesus founded, the Catholic Church. Satan’s hatred for the true Church of Christ is unimaginable. That is because it still spits in his evil eye and says NO!


Over the centuries it has withstood his evil onslaughts even when they came from within. It also rejects today’s “liberation theology”, the perverse philosophy that suggests “Jesus wants you to be happy so just enjoy yourself.” The fact is, Jesus wants us to be happy with him in heaven. This is the testing grounds where we can earn the “right’ to join Him there—not decidewhat that “right” is.
 The Church has teachings that have been in place for two thousand years. But secularists maintain that the Church has “nerve and audacity” to use the words, SIN and MORALITY.  In today’s self-indulged, secular world it seems anyone who might suggest that a particular behavior is “immoral” or “sinful” is branded and vilified as intolerant, hateful, racist and even uncaring.
 How pompous and pride filled this is. Only the new age secularists would have the audacity to suggest that their inverted “virtue” is GOOD and the concept of self-denial is SINFUL.
My favorite comic book character was, Superman. Occasionally, Superman would get stuck in an alternative universe called “Bizarro World”. It was a place where everything was backwards. Up was down, hello meant good-bye and yes meant no. Even the planet, Htrae, (Earth backwards), was shaped like a cube. It is the same with the folly of inverted secular virtue. I call this world “Secularro”.
On Secularro killing is “Good” and if you stand against it you are bad. For instance, take abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and partial-birth abortion. The church says NO! On Secularro the Church is now bad. Fornication and people “hooking up” for one-night stands is heralded as “Good”. The church says NO!  On Secularro the church is told to mind its own business. Divorced and remarried Catholics want to receive the Holy Eucharist. The church, as it always has done, says NO!
On Secularro, the church is deemed intolerant and insensitive and is out of touch with the modern world and needs to get into the 21st century. Homosexuals demand to be married in the Church. The Church says NO!  Marriage is between a man and a woman ONLY. Satan screams from his evil world to his followers, Say “YES! YES! YES!” Holy Mother Church says “NO!” In the alternative universe, the Catholic Church is evil.
On Secularro the inverted unwittingly listen to Satan’s message and pound on the dogmatic doors of the Catholic Church demanding that they be opened to personal wants and desires. Unlike Bizarro World where things are just ‘crazy’ on Secularro, things are mean and vindictive. Secularro is ruled by hate. Satan is Hate.
There are other Christian denominations that have succumbed to outside pressures and reworked their “teachings” to accommodate the demands from Secularro. They have been praised as “progressive” and “in touch” with the needs of the citizens of Secularro. The reality is, they have failed their followers. But the Catholic Church has not caved into the demands and pressures and it never will. Therefore, Satan hates all things Catholic and always will.
The Catholic Church still teaches that there are Seven Deadly Sins. They are pride, greed,  lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth aka laziness. Note the key word in describing these sins is the word “deadly”. The Church teaches that these sins can destroy the soul of anyone who might indulge these human appetites. The church also offers forgiveness for falling prey to these sins. This forgiveness is available 24/7.
On Secularro, the church is mocked and laughed at for suggesting these actions offend God. These acts are acceptable because an individual committing one of these sins is just being human and God made us that way and wants us to be “happy”. So–sin away. Just remember, if you subscribe to that concept the victory in the fight for your soul goes to Satan.
It is time to start looking hard at the Bible. And we might start by going to St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 6: 16-17.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
To quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,
which is the word of God.

                                 
                                        ©Larry Peterson 2016 All Rights Reserved

Why Do Some People Hate God? Because God has Rules

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It Makes Sense To Me
By Larry Peterson
How did this principle of ethics and morality based on the Ten Commandments  and  Natural Law somehow become a pariah to so many? Why would anyone want to remove the words, “under God”, from the Pledge of Allegiance or the name of God from our coins or government buildings? What has happened in America? How did these principles ever become inverted? God is GOOD, right?  God is LOVE, isn’t HE?
There are many of the self-absorbed who do not agree. They hate God because God has RULES. The primary one is called The Golden Rule. 
In today’s self-indulged secular world anyone who might suggest that a particular behavior is “immoral” or “sinful” is branded and vilified as intolerant and uncaring. This progressive slander has climbed the “selfish” ladder reaching as far up as to the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on Earth. How pompous and pride-filled this is.
Fall of the Roman Empire

Only the new age secularists would have the audacity to spin a narrative proclaiming their inverted “virtue” is GOOD and the concept of self-denial is SINFUL. This is the work of fools who have allowed themselves to be dragged down into a world of hedonism. (They may want to look into the history of the collapse and Fall of the Roman Empire).

If any of you remember the comic book version of Superman, on occasion, the “Man of Steel” used to get stuck in Bizarro World, a place where everything was backwards. Up was down and hello meant good-bye. Even the planet, Htrae, (Earth backwards), was shaped like a cube. The world was inverted. It is the same with the insanity of inverted secular virtue. I call this new, hedonistic world where self-gratification and self-indulgence are the rule, “Secularo”. The favored rule on Secularo is the “Anchor Rule”. It just drags you down and down.
On Secularo killing is “Good” and if you stand against it you are bad. For instance, take abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and partial-birth abortion. The church says NO! On Secularo the Church is now bad. Fornication and people “hooking up” for one-night stands is heralded as “Good”. The church says NO and is declared intolerant. Same-sex marriage is honored as a sacred right. On Secularo, if people disagree, they are declared homophobes. Many are convicted of “hate” crimes and incarcerated
Eventually, most of these “problems” cease to exist on Secularo. For example, there is no longer an issue concerning  divorced and remarried Catholics who want to receive the Holy Eucharist.Why? Because there is no church. It has been outlawed as un-Secularistic. It has gone underground and attending Mass can result in imprisonment or even execution (see China). Finally, the existence of these things is removed from all Secularo historical references. The following generation has no clue as to their past.
The pre-cursor to Secularo is our very own Earth. Many today consider the church as intolerant and insensitive and out of touch with the modern world, needing to become part of the 21st century. Homosexuals demand to be married in the Church. The Church says NO!  That marriage is between a man and a woman ONLY. Satan screams from his evil world to his followers,’Say YES! YES! YES!” And there are even some clergy within the church who parrot the “YES! YES! YES!” Bottom line, Secularo World is ruled by hate. Satan is Hate
There are other Christian denominations that have succumbed to outside pressures and reworked their “teachings” to accommodate the demands from future Secularo. They have been praised as “progressive” and “in touch” with the needs of the progressive citizens of their time. Their mission was to save souls for Christ  and guide these souls to their Eternal Reward in heaven.  They have failed in this mission joining the ranks of  those marching dow
n the path to perdition.
 But the Catholic Church has not caved into the demands and pressures of pre-Secularo World. Satan HATES this more than any of us can imagine. That is why the Catholic Church is Satan’s immortal enemy.
The Catholic Church still teaches  that there are Seven Deadly Sins. They are pride, greed,  lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth aka laziness. Note the key word in describing these sins is the word “deadly”. The Church teaches that these sins can destroy the soul of anyone who might indulge these human appetites. On Secularo, these seven deadly sins are honored and rewarded. Therefore the Church is the enemy of the state. 

On Secularo the church will be mocked and laughed at for suggesting these actions offend God.  The rationale is simple; the act(s) are acceptable because the individual committing one of these sins is just being human and God made us that way and wants us to be “happy”. It follows that the acts are NOT sinful. See how inverted one can get. If you subscribe to that concept SATAN wins. But never forget that the church also offers forgiveness for falling prey to these sins and redemption is always a contrite, heartbeat away. Satan hates this more than anything.
It is time to start looking hard at the Bible. And we might start by going to St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 6: 16-17.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
To quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,
which is the word of God.

                     ©Larry Peterson 2016 All Rights Reserved

The Catholic Church; The Foremost Enemy of Satanic Driven Virtue

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IT MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

The United States of America is the only nation in history to have used the Judeo-Christian Principle  as the lynchpin for the nation’s development and growth. So, what happened? How did this principle seemingly get tossed into the dumpster of the outdated and irrelevant? How did this principle of ethics and morality based on the Ten Commandments and the “Golden Rule” somehow become a pariah to so many? Why would anyone want to remove the words, “under God”, from the Pledge of Allegiance or the name of God from our coins or government buildings? What is going on? How did these principles ever become inverted?

It is, in my opinion, all biblical. And why not? We started out as a nation using the Bible as our cornerstone. Isn’t it fitting that those opposed to us would try to destroy that very stone? Of course it is. But there is one critical aspect that drives this onslaught and I think we do not pay close enough attention to it. Neither do the ones committing the onslaught. Those that are flailing away at our religious heritage and freedoms are not committing these attacks on their own. They have a brilliant, diabolical, hate-consumed leader inspiring them onward. Their leader’s name is Satan. And Satan’s biggest and most hated enemy is the church that Jesus Christ founded, the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church was founded by Christ 2000 years ago. The Church is His “bride”. We are all part of the Catholic family. (The word Catholic means ‘universal’ so it is for everyone–if they so choose). And the reason Satan hates Christ’s church so much is because it still spits in his evil eye and says NO! It still has rules. It has standards that have been in place for two thousand years. It still has the “nerve and audacity” to use the words, SIN and MORALITY.  In today’s self-indulged secular world anything or anyone that might suggest that a particular behavior is “immoral” or “sinful” is branded and vilified as intolerant and uncaring. How pompous and pride filled this is. Only the new age secularists would have the audacity to suggest that their inverted “virtue” is GOOD and the concept of self-denial is SINFUL.

Our old comic book friend, Superman, on occasion used to get stuck in “Bizarro World”, a place where everything was backwards. Up was down and hello meant good-bye. Even the planet, Htrae, (Earth backwards), was shaped like a cube. The world was inverted. It is the same with the insanity of inverted secular virtue. I call this world “Secularro”.

On Secularro killing is “Good” and if you stand against it you are bad. For instance, take abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and partial-birth abortion. The church says NO! On Secularro the Church is now bad. Fornication and people “hooking up” for one-night stands is heralded as “Good”. The church says NO!  On Secularro the church is told to mind its own business. Divorced and remarried Catholics want to receive the Holy Eucharist. The church says NO! (This is nothing new) . On Secularro the church is intolerant and insensitive and is out of touch with the modern world and needs to get into the 21st century. Homosexuals demand to be married in the Church. The Church says NO!  Marriage is between a man and a woman ONLY. Satan screams from his evil world to his followers,’Say YES! YES! YES!”

On Secularro the inverted unwittingly listen to him and pound on the dogmatic doors of the Catholic Church demanding that they be opened to personal wants and desires. Unlike Bizarro World where things are just ‘crazy’ on Secularro World things are mean and vindictive. Secularro World is ruled by hate. Satan is Hate.

There are other Christian denominations that have succumbed to outside pressures and reworked their “teachings” to accommodate the demands from Secularro. They have been praised as “progressive” and “in touch” with the needs of the citizens of Secularro.  Their mission is to save souls for Christ  and guide these souls to their Eternal Reward in heaven.  They have failed in this mission. But the Catholic Church has not caved into the demands and pressures of Secularro World. Satan HATES this more than any of us can imagine. That is why the Catholic Church is Satan’s (im)mortal enemy.

The Catholic Church still teaches  that there are Seven Deadly Sins. They are pride, greed,  lust, anger, gluttony, envy and sloth aka laziness. Note the key word in describing these sins is the word “deadly”. The Church teaches that these sins can destroy the soul of anyone who might indulge these human appetites. The church also offers forgiveness for falling prey to these sins. On Secularro the church is mocked and laughed at for suggesting these actions offend God.  These acts are acceptable because the individual committing one of these sins is just being human  and God made us that way and wants us to be “happy”. So–sin away. How inverted can one get. If you subscribe to that concept SATAN wins.

It is time to start looking hard at the Bible. And we might start by going to St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 6: 16-17.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
To quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,
which is the word of God.

Hating the Truth of the Real Presence of Christ, Satanists Perform a 'black mass'

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IT  MAKES SENSE TO ME

by Larry Peterson

Praise the Lord (TRULY).  The ‘black mass’ abomination in Oklahoma City (with its huge congregation of 42 people) is finally over. The Satanic lovers of the “darkness” have had their day.  I hope they are fulfilled with whatever redeeming spiritual blackness their boss can deliver into their misguided, hate filled, anti-God hearts.

I wrote about this shameful event back on August 8. The mock “mass” that these Satan lovers were going to enact was reprehensible enough. But what nagged at me like an unscratchable itch was the fact that these Catholic haters seemed to understand the Holy Eucharist and what it actually was better than many “cafeteria” Catholics (those who pick & choose doctrine they accept). Statistics say that 48% of “Catholics” do not accept the Real Presence  ( a blog for another day). Yet here are Satanists obviously accepting this profound Dogma of Catholicism.  They must realize the  truth of this Dogma or why would they  revel in hating and defiling it? There would be no point.

So, why do Satanists want to desecrate a host consecrated at a Catholic Mass? They are definitely not interested in a host from another Christian service. Is their callous faithlessness filled with an abiding TRUTH that they cannot stand because of their pride and ego?  Is the magnificent reality of the Eucharistic Sacrifice offered at the Mass what drives them to gather together to defile, mock and denigrate this mystery? Is this why Adam Daniels, the Satanist in charge of this debasement, tells us they will denounce Jesus Christ, stomp and spit on the host they are using and even urinate on it. How can they hate something so much? I think I know why.

I have come to the realization that they have the truth in their hearts and down deep inside they know what that truth is. Unfortunately for them, the greatest of the Seven Deadly Sins,  PRIDE, has embraced them all in a bear-hug of self-centeredness, a hold that they choose not to break free from.  Therefore, it follows, down deep inside they also hate themselves. This is very sad.

They hate so much because Satan himself is hate and they are filled with his venom. They do not understand that Satan hates them too. He hates them because they can still obtain redemption. God is love and that love is pure Goodness. Any of these human followers of Satan still have an opportunity to ask God for His forgiveness. If they do, God will embrace them and welcome them home. They can perform these heinous acts against Christ and still have a chance for redemption. They can change their minds and have this opportunity up until death takes them.

Satan, as the greatest of all angels, had his chance and blew it. He turned against God and was cast from heaven with his pride-filled followers. His Pride cost him to lose total Hope. Filled with hate he and those that followed him prowl around the world seeking the ruin of souls, a task at which they have been extremely successful. Ironically, Satan hates his human followers more than they can imagine. That is because he has no fear or respect for any of them. More than anything, he knows they can still find redemption if they so decide. That drives him crazy because a) he knows he is so much better than them; and b) redemption can NEVER be his. Bring on the eternal envy.

Each and every one of us has a life long, personal war we must wage within ourselves. That war’s two main enemies are Pride and HUMILITY.  These two entities are part of us and they pit us against ourselves throughout our entire lives. Pride has torn apart families, destroyed friendships, fomented resentment and  bitterness, incited fury and outrage, and even led to war and murder and something called a ‘black mass’.

The antidote to Pride is Humility. For many that is too hard a pill to swallow. How many of us have heard words or even used words like:
“I’m NOT apologizing to him.”  or  
“She was RUDE to me. I’m never talking to her again.”  or
“I’m not going to confession and telling my sins to another person.”  or
“She’s SO stuck up. I can’t stand her.”
Death, destruction, and mayhem are the result of pride. It certainly can be a terrible thing. Jesus, dying on the cross, forgave His executioners and all of us too. Therein is the greatest lesson in Humility ever given.

 The war within each of us will continue until our deaths. Many times it is a hard fought struggle but many of us win these ongoing battles. Having the Love of God in your life combined with prayer are  the greatest weapons against this deadly sin of pride. Sadly, many surrender to the Great Impostor, Satan, and his lies and false promises of worldly pleasure.  For all of those folks let the rest of us keep praying for them. And that includes the Oklahoma City Satanists.

Book Review: A Man Born Again—A Novel Based on the Life of St. Thomas More

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Book Review:
Hans Holbein, the Younger - Sir Thomas More - Google Art Project.jpgby Larry Peterson

A Man Born Again—-
A Novel Based on the Life of St. Thomas More

by John E. Beahn

Originally published in 1954 by Bruce Publishing Co.
Re-published in 2013 by TAN Books for the TAN Legends Series

            TAN Books
Charlotte, North Carolina
  http://www.TANBooks.com

This book is absolutely mesmerizing. Author, John E. Beahn (1910-1990),  has managed to somehow crawl into the mind of the great Lord Chancellor of England and, writing in the first person, chaperons him right into your presence.  You meet Sir Thomas in the Tower of London where the author of “Utopia” awaits an unannounced yet obvious fate at the hands of his King, Henry VIII.  Thomas, looking down from behind his prison window, has you look with him and survey the city of London below.

Just like that you are walking with Sir Thomas down Milk Street and he shows you where he was born.  You pass by St. Anthony’s on Threadneedle St. and he shows you where he first went to school.  Suddenly you are walking across a bridge and John More, Sir Thomas’ father, is walking with you.  Thomas explains that he is being taken by his dad to Lambert Place to meet the Lord Chancellor of England, Archbishop Morton.  You watch as the Archbishop accepts 12-year old Thomas as a page.  Why not?   Thomas is already versed in Latin and English and rhetoric and mathematics. You do notice though, that the young Thomas More is quite taken with the things of the world more so than those esteemed by God.

Filled with a false pride at his superb intelligence and  against his father’s wishes, Thomas agrees with Archbishop Morton that he should go to Oxford.  His father objects and wants him  to study law at New Inn.  The Lord Chancellor has his way and Thomas  begins preparations to leave for Oxford.  His father becomes distanced from him but Thomas does not seem to care.  He is being treated as a young man of “importance” by his acquaintances and other students and even people in the street. He relishes the popularity.  His climb up the ladder of success has begun and it is moving quickly.  He tells you  at Charterhouse that he is “determined to be a saint just like all the Carthusians.”   You, as the reader, already know better but are anxious to see how his sudden “call to sanctity” develops.

You now follow along with Sir Thomas and observe as he becomes a fine lawyer and a  sought after lecturer. He rejects the idea of the priesthood and marries  Jane Colt, has four children, becomes widowed when Jane dies from illness, marries Alice Middleton and pursues his dream of being a writer.  He does gain notoriety with his book, Utopia, and is suddenly under the watchful  eye of Cardinal Wolsey and King Henry VIII.

Suffice it to say that once again the primary of the seven deadly sins, Pride, reared its ugly head and consumed the King of England.  Infatuated with Anne Boleyn he wanted to divorce Catherine and marry Anne.  He also wanted Pope Leo to annul his marriage to Catherine.  This the Pope refused to do.  Known as King Henry’s “Great Matter”, the King was not about to defer to the Pope.  He took over the church in England and demanded oaths of fidelity to the realm.  You now travel with a humble Thomas More who confides in  you that “God permitted me to sink into that blackness of spirit and to the darkness about myself. And when I could endure no more, He returned to me.”  Thomas More refused to reject his faith and his church and his God. He was canonized a martyred saint on May 19, 1935 by Pope Pius XI.

One final thing, treat yourself and read this book. You might find a new friend albeit someone a bit older than you. His name is Saint Thomas More.