April 12, 2013 / Maria News

Pentagon Report: N. Korea capable of arming missile with nuke

FoxNews.com - Obama administration officials scrambled to downplay the errant disclosure of a classified portion of an intelligence report finding that North Korea has advanced its nuclear knowledge to the point that it could arm a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead.

The analysis, disclosed Thursday at a hearing on Capitol Hill, says the Pentagon’s intelligence wing has “moderate confidence” that North Korea has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles but that the weapon was unreliable.

The revelation was significant, because it has not been previously reported or believed that the country had the ability to miniaturize and deliver a nuclear weapon.

December 14, 2012 / MariaNews.com 

Need Christmas Gifts?  Check out CM1 Store by MariaNews (beta)

MariaNews.com –  If you are still in need of gifts to give for Christmas, check out CM1 Store by Maria News.   CM1 News and the CM1 Store are test sites associated with Maria news.   Maria News will receive a percentage of sales made at the CM1 Store which is being powered by Amazon.com.

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December 13, 2012 / MariaNews.com 

Drury Hotel founder says faith, family shaped business decisions 

Catholic News Agency- Missouri business executive Charles Drury, who helped found the hotel chain that bears his name, attributes his success to a firm reliance on God and a willingness to value family over material possessions.

“We don’t believe that we are smart enough to be successful on our own,” Drury told CNA on Dec. 11.

At age 85, Drury has enjoyed a successful career with Drury Hotels Company, LLC, which has more than 130 hotels in 20 states. However, life was not always easy for him and his family.

Drury came from humble beginnings, raised on a farm is southeast Missouri during the Depression era.

He recalled his mother listening to Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen when he was young and how he was taught by Catholic nuns in school.

“We worked every holiday – Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day – but we never did work a Holy Day,” he said.

Read More: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/drury-hotel-founder-says-faith-family-shape-business-decisions/

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October 30, 2012 / MariaNews.com 

Rick and Karen Santorum on Becoming a Voice for the Voiceless

By Catholic Online

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – Sadly, the view that every human life has value and should be treated with dignity is no longer upheld in some realms of today’s culture.  How have so many strayed from such a fundamental belief?

For example, we see this in the area of medicine. The tradition of medicine has moved away from a covenant between physician and patient based on the Hippocratic oath of “first do no harm.” Medical students today are unfamiliar with what this long-standing commitment says because most medical schools have eliminated it altogether, or have stripped it down to an unrecognizable oath of polite niceties.

In its place, a philosophy of utilitarian bioethics has emerged which fails to recognize the dignity of every human life at every age and stage. Alleging they are seeking to do the “greatest good for the greatest number”, some medical and policy professionals have asserted the authority to determine whose life has value and whose life does not.

Some lives are defined as not worth living at all, others are classified as more valuable if sacrificed for those deemed to be of “greater value.”  Individuals with special needs become expendable as they need justification to receive scarce healthcare resources.

We now live in a time where matters of life and death really are being decided for us.  While these may seem like remote concepts — matters appropriate for academics, physicians and lawyers – how we view the most vulnerable of our fellow humans actually affects us all.

Some experience this reality more directly than others, like our family.  First, with the loss of our son Gabriel, and then later with the birth of our daughter Isabella who has a severe genetic disorder.

Deliberations in the ivory towers and decisions in the halls of Congress matter to life and death issues. Policies and ideas really do trickle down to everyday families as they struggle making ethical end-of -life decisions while caring for elderly parents, or navigate the social support network while trying to find much needed services for a child with special needs.

A recent University of Montreal study found that despite the dire warning health care providers give to families with children born with the genetic disorder Trisomy 13, their parents reported overwhelmingly that their lives were happy and rewarding despite the challenges and short life spans of their child.

Notably, their child was happy, too, in their short life.  The families interviewed for the study, published in Pediatrics, reported that they felt the medical professionals too often viewed their disabled children in terms of a diagnosis and not as a unique baby.

We can learn from these families.  It is in the home where we understand and appreciate the value of the individual person.  It is the family, the community, and the body of faithful believers who bear witness to the exceptional dignity of the lives of every one of our loved ones.

And so we recognize the importance of bioethics with a foundation that values and protects every human being. We need those without a mistaken “greatest good for the greatest number” calculus to stand in the gap.

We must work for rigorous and fact-based science – and for progress in truly ethical biotechnologies and medical therapies that honor and affirm the value, worth, and dignity of every individual member of the human community.

And we must speak expressly for those at the “edges of life” who have no voice.   And among those who need a voice more than ever are the unborn.

Throughout Rick’s career in public service we have supported legislation and initiatives that support scientific research without destroying human life.

That is why we are proudly working on the Give Cures campaign with The John Paul II Stem Cell Research Institute (“JP2SRI”).  JP2SRI is a non-profit organization with a mission to create faster and more streamlined processes in regenerative medicine research. This institute recognizes the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death.

The Institute does not support or conduct human embryonic stem cell research and does not perform therapeutic cloning or somatic cell nuclear transfer. The Institute has created a new research model to accelerate the process to find ethical treatments and cures.

It uses a variety of adult stem cells – and induced pluripotent stem cells obtained from adult stem cells - to find cures and therapies. Its research respects the dignity of every human life.  The truth is that great science is being conducted in the field of bioethics that affirms the dignity of life. It further affirms life by targeting help to those in need-from those fighting disease to the disabled.

We also proudly work with crisis pregnancy centers around the country who put their hands and feet to the march for life to get their message out that young girls and women are not alone and have real options in bringing a beautiful new life into the world.  The support is there for people who want to affirm life.  You can find your closest pregnancy crisis center to volunteer and support them here.

Planned Parenthood facilities deceptively advertise online as Crisis Pregnancy Centers – while at the same time they – and other abortion proponents – sue authentic Crisis Pregnancy Centers. They are trying to force them to “warn” women that they don’t provide abortion services.

It is up to us to be a voice and a practical support to truly life affirming Crisis Pregnancy Centers. We must aid them in their critical and heroic efforts to help women and save babies.

As we travelled around the country, we met parents affirming life outside of the spotlight day in and day out.  We witnessed compassionate healthcare professionals, families, and caregivers affirm life in their everyday work.

We saw the affirmation of life from those assisting in crisis pregnancy centers, caretakers assisting the disabled as if they were their own child, and those assisting the elderly nearing the end of their precious life.

These are the voices and lives that inspire us.  These are the heroes and voices which we need to lift up in America.  It is our honor to stand with these heroes who dedicate their lives to affirming the dignity of every human life.

—–

Rick Santorum is a former Republican candidate for President, former Congressman and Senator from Pennsylvania – and champion of the fundamental human right to life. He and his wife Karen, also a pro-life champion, are the co-founders of Patriot Voices, a grassroots organization committed to fighting for faith, family, freedom & opportunity in America.

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October 10, 2012 / MariaNews.com 

Headlines from Apollo: Blessed John Henry Newman, A Great Teacher of Faith

BY FATHER JUAN VÉLEZ

NCRegister.com - On Oct. 11, the Church begins the Year of Faith called for by Pope Benedict XVI to encourage the faithful to seek spiritual renewal and a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith in response to the grave crisis of faith in the contemporary world.

One tried-and-true way to learn more about our faith and progress with spiritual renewal is to read the lives of the saints, teachers of the faith who, through their example and word, nourished both their contemporaries and Christians of future generations.

Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890), an Anglican convert to Catholicism and later a cardinal, is one of the great modern teachers of the faith. Through a diligent study of the Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church, Cardinal Newman pursued the truth wherever it led him. His intellectual honesty and courage led him to give up the prestige he enjoyed at Oxford University in order to convert to the Roman Catholic Church in 1845.

In his sermons and books, Newman teaches the faith in a deep and convincing manner. He taught that faith is “assenting to a doctrine as true, which we do not see, which we cannot prove, because God says it is true, who cannot lie.” Furthermore, he explained, it is assenting to what God’s messengers say because we do not hear God’s voice directly.

Newman wrote that faith in God is unlike ordinary faith in men. The believer “is as certain that the doctrine taught is true as God is true; and he is certain because God is true, because God has spoken, not because he sees its truth or can prove its truth.” The believer “receives the tidings from one who comes from God. This is what faith was in the time of the apostles, as no one can deny; and what it was then, it must be now, else it ceases to be the same thing.”

Today’s Crisis

What can the writings of a 19th-century English scholar teach us today, in a world so very different than his? At the root of today’s crisis of faith is often religious ignorance based on superficiality and materialism.
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/blessed-john-henry-newman-a-great-teacher-of-the-faith/#ixzz28uF1XygI

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July 27, 2012 / MariaNews.com

The Story of My Conversion to the Catholic Church 

By David L. Gray

In my article Losing and Finding it All I talked about how I moved from Agnostic to Christian. I wish I could say that I went to prison and found Christ, but that would not be the truth – It was Jesus who found me in very bad condition and gave me a new opportunity at life.

After Jesus spoke to me as I was in the process of trying to commit suicide and said, “I love you. I am here,” everything was different. I could no longer deny that Jesus was real and that He was interested in having a personal relationship with me, but some of those issues that troubled me about Christianity for all those years still lingered in my heart. Ever since I was teenager, I could never understand how those Christians could be in so many different denominations, and each of them teaching so many radically different things that were at odds with what the other denominations were teaching, and, yet, all insisting that they each believed in the same God. I kept asking myself how could they all believe in the same God and simultaneously accept that their God was confusing them with opposing and competing truths? As far as I was concerned, that was not a God worth believing in.

Moreover, I was not very knowledgeable about the New Testament, but one thing I knew for sure was that the YHWH of Old Testament always kept His people together and for His children there was nothing more important than the Shema, “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4). I knew that in the Davidic Kingdom there was only one God, one Temple, and one priesthood. Therefore, as an Agnostic, I concluded that either these Christians were not of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as they claimed, or there was no God.

There in October of 2004 it was good enough for me to finally know that God is real, and He truly does have a Son named Jesus Christ who loves me more than I love myself; so the restlessness and questions in my heart about those Christian denominations would wait until a later time. I was on my way to prison – my new life, and I had to figure out how I was going to adjust to that.

On August 31st, 2005 I was Baptized in prison in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I suppose that I could have been classed as Protestant at that time and until my conversion to Catholicism, because that (Protestantism) was the brand of theology that I subscribed to at least; even without knowing what I was ‘protesting’ against exactly or knowing anything about the Catholic Church, except what I heard, such as they worship Mary and the Pope. Yet, the Baptism itself was huge step for me in the right direction, because, for me, it meant commitment; it meant that I was ready to take my walk with Christ Jesus seriously. In the light of Christ having deigned to speak to me personally to save me from myself, I felt that I owed that commitment to God. He gave me my life back, so I felt that I owed Him mine.

It was shortly after my Baptism that all the old restlessness and those questions arose in my heart again. By that time I had become more familiar with the New Testament and it had become absolutely clear to me that I had to belong to a Church, because that was the ‘gift’ that Jesus gave us through his Apostles, He prayed that we would be one (Cf.John 17), Paul admonished us to be of one faith, one Lord, on Baptism, and one God (Cf. Ephesians 4:5-6), and the writer of Hebrews commands us not to forsake the assembly (Cf. 10:23). I was just starting year two of a five to nine year sentence, so I felt that I had plenty of time to make up my mind which Church I would join, but for awhile I assumed that I would join the African Methodist Episcopal Church because that was the one my Grandmother Minnie always took me to.

Read more: http://www.davidlgray.info/blog/2010/09/the-story-of-my-conversion-to-the-catholic-church/#

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July 14, 2012 / MariaNews.com

The Happy Priest: Be Not Afraid! We are All Called to Be a Witness

By Catholic Online

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) – A number of years ago I was invited to give a retreat to a group of lay people in New York City.  A seminarian graciously accompanied me in order to help with the practical details.  Prior to the evening retreat, we had a number of appointments, so that meant that we would have lunch in New York. The seminarian really enjoyed Asian cuisine, so I accommodated his palate by inviting him to lunch at a Korean restaurant.

As we went to our table, we were met by a Korean woman who graciously attended us with delicate courtesy. Having had many years of experience at my father’s restaurant, I was able to notice that her kindness, manners and spirit of service were far from ordinary.

Towards the end of the meal, another Korean woman finished waiting on our table.  When we were ready, I asked her for the check.  She then proceeded to tell me that there would be no charge for the lunch because the first waitress took care of the bill.  I was very surprised and I asked her why she had decided to pay for our meal.  “She is Christian,” was the unanticipated answer from the waitress.

“She is Christian,” meant that all the other waitresses were not Christian, and that all though encountering a free meal in the middle of downtown New York City surprised me, they were not surprised at all.  They knew that this woman was different.  Because of her Christianity, she was different.

This is just one example of what it means to be a witness.  The Korean woman, through her profound generosity, gave an amazing witness to all of her co-workers.  She is Christian.

In this Sunday’s gospel passage from Saint Mark, Jesus summons his Apostles and sends them out two by two.  The commissioning of the Apostles reminds us that through Baptism, we too are summoned to go out and to preach the Gospel.  Every apostle is a witness.

A true witness of Christ will be someone who is convinced of the truth. Converts to Catholicism from other faith traditions and cradle Catholics who have had to work through doubts and questions are people with profound convictions because they know the reasons why they believe.

A true witness of Christ will be someone who is also fearless.  Fearless witnesses are those who have abandoned themselves to the loving friendship of Jesus. They trust his power and his presence.  They know that the judgments of time will be corrected by the judgments of eternity.

It has become easy for any American to give witness to the Gospel in a society that has become completely secularized.

Greeting everyone with a smile, being of good cheer, displaying a professional spirit at work, good manners, neat attire, wholesome conversations, praying a blessing before meals in a restaurant and simple acts of kindness are magnificent ways of showing others that you belong to the Lord.

It is amazing the response that young couples get when they walk through a supermarket or a Mall with a few kids, or even a large number of children.  Priests and religious who wear their clerics in public will be shinning lights in a world darkened by sin.

There are three responses to anyone who is committed to authentic Christianity.  Many times a true witness of the Gospel will be confronted with indifference.  There are people, even family members and co-workers who will simply not care.

Within some circumstances there will be people who will respect a true witness of the Gospel and even be moved to conversion by the way you live your life.

However, the true witness will also meet head-on with challenging persecution.  Persecution can take the form of ridicule, rejection, or it can even be violent. The highest form of witness is martyrdom.

Blessed Pope John Paul II once wrote: “We cannot be content when we consider the millions of our brothers and sisters, who like us have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, but who live in ignorance of the love of God. For each believer, as for the entire Church, the missionary task must remain foremost, for it concerns the eternal destiny of humanity and corresponds to God’s mysterious and merciful plan. (Redemptoris Missio, #86).

Many years ago, as a young seminarian, I arrived to Rome for the first time in order to continue my studies for the Catholic priesthood.  As I arrived to the center of Catholicism, I immediately thought about the thousands of my brothers and sisters who shed their blood for Jesus Christ.  As these heroes of the Gospel stood in the middle of the Coliseum waiting for the wild beasts to tear them apart, perhaps during the terror of the moment they were able to cry out a loving prayer of hope to the God of the universe.  Maybe, as the wild animals came charging toward them, they remembered the resounding words of their Savior: “You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved”(Matthew 10: 22).

Our own age has been blessed with countless heroic men and women who never wavered under persecution.  Multitudes of martyrs in such places as China, Russia, Spain and Mexico have shed their blood for Christ.  People like Archbishop Oscar Romero of El valiantly shed his blood for the Kingdom as he fought for a better life of justice for the peoples of his country.

We are in dire need of men and women who will evangelize a difficult world by the witness of their lives.  We all need the deep, unyielding convictions of the heroes of the civil rights movement such as Dr. Martin Luther King and the un-sung heroes of the pro-life movement who have been imprisoned in order to save the lives of millions of unborn children.

Never be afraid to be a witness of the Gospel.  You will change the world around you and the reward is eternal life in Heaven.

—–

Father James Farfaglia is a contributing writer for Catholic Online and author of Get Serious! – A Survival Guide for Serious Catholics.

—–

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July 9, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Struggle and Difficulty Are an Invitation to Live in the ‘Brotherhood of the Belt’

By Catholic Online

CHESAPEAKE, VA. (Catholic Online) – In Year B of our Catholic Liturgical Calendar the readings for Holy Mass on this 14th Sunday of the Year include a portion from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians which speaks of “thorns in the flesh” and opposition in the Christian life as a path to perfection (2 Cor. 12: 7-10). Our Gospel tells the story of Jesus’ return to his own hometown where His saving message falls on deaf ears. He is even unable to give them the gift of miracles due to their lack of faith. (Mark 6:1-6). Both of these readings address the failures, opposition, and struggles we often face in living our lives in, with and for the Lord. We live in a world which desperately needs redemption. That world is both within us and around us.

It seems that the older I get, struggles, hardship and difficulties seem to be on the increase. When I was a young man, I thought that struggles would lessen as I grew in faith and matured. My studies of the lives of the apostles and the saints through the years finally disabused me of that notion. Now, as I round the corner to my 60th birthday, I not only know how wrong I was – I believe I had it backwards.

There are some Christians, often well intended ones, who insist that the obstacles, struggle and pain we often face in trying to live our lives for the Lord are always opposition from the enemy of our souls, the devil. (Eph. 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8) Don’t get me wrong; evil is real and, because we are joined to the Lord through Baptism, we do encounter spiritual attacks as we participate in the spiritual warfare arrayed against His loving plan.

There are other Christians whom I refer to as “friends of Job” (Job 16:2-4). They offer us their advice when we fall on hard times or face struggles and difficulties. Like the “friends” of that great figure in the Old Testament, they all too quickly blame the difficulties and struggles we are going through on us. They may accuse us of not “having faith” or of not doing the right thing. Of course, there are times when our lack of faith, and improper behavior and response, impedes the loving work of God in our lives as our Gospel passage demonstrates. However, discerning that fact can be hard and it should not be presumed.

Then, all too often, there are fellow Christians who speak as though they have God figured out, as though He were some kind of puzzle to be solved. They present the Christian faith as though it were a formula to be followed rather than a gift and mystery to be received. They minimize the Christian vocation as a call to some form of “success”, accomplished by following a formula, rather than a rugged road to be walked in the footsteps of a Savior whose greatest act of Love was deemed by most who witnessed it to be a complete failure.

My experience as I age has confirmed something quite simple but hard to accept until age wears you down a bit, difficulties and struggle are just a part of the mixed human experience. They are rooted in the rupture that was caused by our individual and corporate separation from God. That is a result of sin. However, there is some very good news. When we learn to live our lives in Christ, they can also become the raw material for our continuing transformation, as they did with the great Apostle Paul.  He tells the Corinthians in that wonderful passage in the second reading of Sundays Mass:

“Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong”. (2 Cor. 12:7-10)

Let’s be honest. Life is often difficult, painful and filled with obstacles.  Yes, even when you are praying, being as faithful as you can be, cooperating with grace and really trying to believe in the Lord and all that he teaches through His Church. Pain, failure, opposition, hardship, struggle, disappointment all just seem to be a part of the program. The saints of old, such as St. Paul, grew so accustomed to difficulties they began to “boast” of them. The question that we should ask ourselves when we face struggle, difficulty, failure, disappointment and the frequent pain of real life is how do we respond to the invitation that they offer to us?

Every difficulty, struggle and experience of opposition or pain can become an invitation to exercise our freedom, informed by our faith, to truly believe in and embrace the loving plan of God. To the man or woman who is sincerely committed to following the Lord, embracing these experiences in the surrender of authentic discipleship can pave the path to holiness, form the raw material for continued conversion and equip him/her more fully for the work of the Gospel. It is not the difficulties, struggles and hardships which lessen in life as we age. Rather, they just change their complexion. We change in and through them. They can become the vehicle for some of the greatest growth in our relationship with the Lord. What had been intended for our demise can become the path to our restoration.

One of my favorite stories which shed light on all of this is found at the end of St. John’s Gospel in an encounter between the Risen Jesus and Peter: “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” Jesus said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep”.

What follows in the encounter between peter and the Lord has come to mean so much to me. Jesus continued speaking to Peter, “Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, follow me.” (John 21) Another translation says “when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will tie a belt around you and lead you where you do not want to go.” It is from this translation that I derive my expression, the “brotherhood of the belt.”

As the years have unfolded in my own life, this encounter between Peter and the Lord has taken on a deep meaning for me. How do I respond to the inevitable struggle, failure, disappointment and difficulties in life? How do I recover when I have fallen? Let’s be honest, we will fall, and we will struggle. The only question is whether we get up and are changed and converted as a result. Whether we will voluntarily join this brotherhood of the belt, this way of discipleship, and allow ourselves to be pulled along by the Lord who alone knows what is best for our lives.

John’s is the “theological” gospel. Probably the last to be written, it reveals the mature reflections of the early Church concerning the deepest meaning of the Incarnation, life, death, resurrection and teaching of Jesus Christ the Messiah. In his treatment of this post-resurrection appearance of Jesus, he focuses us on Peter for many reasons. The early Fathers of the Church drew beautiful insights from the three questions asked by the Risen Lord, as well as from Peters three fold response. They taught that this dialogue represented both the undoing of his former threefold denial and an affirmation of his specific call to leadership over the early Church as it went forth into the Nations to carry forward in time the redemptive mission of Jesus.

How beautiful this insight truly is. It reaches down to the depth of the mystery of human freedom. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church so succinctly expresses “Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself” (CCC #1861) Sin is an abuse of freedom, a wrong choice. When we choose against God, we choose against love, and we choose against our own human flourishing. When we make these kinds of wrong choices, we not only negatively affect the world around us, but we change who we become in the process.

Peter’s denial crippled Peter. He lost his way in life, until he encountered the Risen Christ. We do as well – when we make wrong choices. However, what matters most is what we do afterward. Peter shows us the way into what I call the “brotherhood of the belt” through encountering the Risen Lord. The only path out of Peter’s plight was repentance and, then, making a new choice – one that was rooted in faith and trust rather than fear. The Risen Jesus came and stood in front of Him, gazing upon Him in love, showing Him the way of new life.

He does the same for each one of us. Our repentance invites us to make new choices of love and fidelity in both word and deed; to begin again. We are invited to exercise our freedom when we are faced with difficulties and struggles. The right choice, made possible by grace, is to choose the way of surrendered love, like the Apostle Peter did. To make the decision to join Peter and all of the Saints in the brotherhood of the belt.

I am in a season of my life where I no longer want to get out ahead of the Lord. I feel as though the Lord has tied a belt around me and He is pulling me. I have found great freedom in simply letting Him do so.  I know that this is right where I should be. It is also becoming where I want to stay. What changes more often in my life these days are not the circumstances that surround me but the way I view them and the manner in which I respond. In short, I am changing; it is the kind of change that is not easy, but I know must happen. It is the path to true freedom.

What once seemed sour now tastes sweet. What once caused fear now invites a deepening call to faith and surrender. Perhaps you are having similar experiences in your own life? If so, take Peter as an example and a source of encouragement. Let go of any attempts to control. Join the brotherhood (or sisterhood) of the belt. Let Jesus pull you along in the way of surrendered love. There is no better way to live. Failure, Opposition, Struggle and Difficulty in the Christian Life are the classroom. In that classroom we learn how to to live in the brotherhood of the belt.

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June 27, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Peg Luksik on Why Freedom of Worship is Not Freedom of Religion

By Catholic Online

HARRISBURG, PA. (Catholic Online) – If you have been carefully listening, you will notice that when government officials now talk about religion and the Constitution, they refer to our guaranteed “freedom of worship” instead of “freedom of religion”.  It’s only one word, so it is easy to miss the change; but the difference between worship and religion is enormous.

Let’s put it into sports terms.

Instead of freedom to root for your favorite NFL team, you will now have the freedom to cheer for that team.

That means that while you are in the stadium of your team during a scheduled game, you may cheer your head off.  But once you leave the stadium, you may not display the team name or logo in any form in your school or in your workplace.  You may not wear any clothing that includes the name or logo of the team to any public event.  You may not engage in discussions with others about the merits of your team.  You may not invite others to join you in becoming fans of that team.  Any you may not compare the accomplishments of your team to those of any other team.

In effect, when you leave the stadium, you must leave your allegiance to your team behind.

Unfortunately, the situation is even worse.

The rules above only apply to the fans of SOME teams.  So the fans of the Screaming Aardvarks are required to follow the rules above, while the fans of the Charging Platypuses are not only permitted to continue publicly supporting their team, they are given the ability to force Aardvark fans to participate in activities that will help the Platypuses.

Aardvark fans must attend seminars to learn about the merits of the Platypuses.  They must attend at least one Platypus game each season or pay a fine.  They must express their support of the Platypuses whenever asked about the topic, or face penalties.  They must not, under any circumstances, do or say anything to convert anyone from supporting the Platypuses to supporting the Aardvarks.

That is freedom of worship.

You may participate in your faith inside the church building, but once you leave that building, you must leave your allegiance to your faith behind.  And not only must you leave that allegiance behind, you must be willing to publicly embrace ideologies and practices that are exactly the opposite of what your faith teaches, or be penalized.

No sports fan in the country would accept such a situation.  Can you imagine what would happen if the government took even one single step in that direction?

Yet that same government is working to create a situation in which those of us who live lives illuminated by faith are accorded fewer rights than the average sports enthusiast.

Freedom of worship is NOT freedom of religion.  It is not even a part of freedom of religion because it requires believers to jettison their faith at the church doors.   It is a travesty of the words in our First Amendment.

If we are to preserve the America we cherish, we must become as adamant as NFL fans in telling the government that it will not be allowed to take even one single step in that direction.

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Peg Luksik is the Chairman of the Center for American Heritage. Learn more about the heritage of this exceptional nation atwww.centerforamericanheritage.com

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