Out With the Old…What are We To Do?

Having made a bit of a name for myself in some conservative, TEA Party, and political circles I have been asked more than a few times “What are we going to do!?” ever since November 6th.  On the cusp of a New Year, and the brink of careening off a fiscal cliff, I think perhaps its time to answer.  

What am I going to do?  I am going to pray.  I am going to continue to home school.  I am going to work to change the culture through the Guiding Star Project.  I am going to exercise my second amendment rights.  And I am going to have babies, God willing.

You must be out of your mind. You actually want to bring more children into this mess!?

Why yes, yes I do.

We are in an abysmal state here in America.  Taxes are about to skyrocket, food prices keep going up, the price of gas is going to rise again, the cost of living is astronomical compared to what it was a few years ago.  Healthcare costs are going to rise while doctors become scarce.  The HHS mandate could plunge us into a medical disaster as Catholic Hospitals close across the country.  Its going to become more dangerous to be a Catholic.  And yet….

God is still God.  He is still watching over us and caring for us.  He is sill the God of miracles who can and will provide for us – if we let Him.  Over and over again His Word tells us children are blessings.  We need blessing now more than ever!  Should He allow us to bring more children into the world, it will not only bless us, but it will bless the world too.  In the face of the contraceptive culture that is being rammed down our proverbial throats, what better way to witness to an openness to life?  Yes, we WILL be open to any and all new life that God sends us. I am more than ready to be counter-cultural to the extreme. *gasp* A lady who doesn’t buy into the contraceptive garbage and who believes she is empowered by her ability to give birth  - not hindered by it!  Yep, that’s me!

How better can we bring about the change that is so desperately needed in our nation than to raise up Holy, informed, well educated, young men and women of faith!?  In this time of moral relativism, uncertainty, and declining social skills how better to save our culture and society than by teaching our kids the arts of rhetoric and logic; the skills of debate and argument.  What better way to reclaim our society than to form the minds and hearts of the leaders of the next generation – ready to serve and grounded in Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and Wisdom?   This is what I plan to do, with God’s help, to the best of my ability.  All is not lost.  There are faithful citizens across the “Fruited Plain” who are doing just this.  We will see the fruits of our labor as these, our children, grow older.  But it doesn’t mean we do not have to fight for them now. There is a war being waged for the hearts and minds of our children.  As parents, as adults, as educators, we MUST prevail.  We must not allow an overblown Government to strip us of our rights as parents.  We cannot let our children become wards of the “nanny state.”  They are our responsibility.  It is our privilege and our task to raise and educate them.  No one else’s.

We also cannot sit by and allow our culture to become so debased that we don’t recognize it at all.  This is why I am now working for the Guiding Star Project.  I realized that politics wasn’t going to cut it.  Politicians are sort of like symptoms.  They are only as “good” as our culture.  If our culture is sick, the politics Washington churns out will be even sicker.  If our culture is strong and morally grounded, the politics of Washington will reflect that as well.  So I stepped aside from my political work and decided to work on the culture.  What a gem I have found!

The Guiding Star Project truly speaks to my heart, and actually to the mission I had in mind back when I created this blog! Guiding Star is at the forefront of promoting New Feminism  - the kind Papa John Paul II urged for.  The mission is to open Guiding Star Centers – holistic, pro-life centers nationwide that will unite pro-life and pro-women resources to provide support for natural means of family planning, fertility care, childbirth, breastfeeding, and family life.  I urge you to check them out, and if you can, make a contribution.  We are a non-profit, and are poising ourselves to take on Planned Parenthood – that’s no easy or cheap feat!  The response has been overwhelmingly positive and I really look forward to what the next year will bring!

So there you have it.  That is my plan for the New Year and beyond.  Things may have looked bleak after November, but they are not impossible.  They may be challenging, but I’m up for a challenge!  The important question is, will you join me?  Will you join me in taking this culture head on?  Will join me in not being afraid to live the Truth, speak the Truth, and witness to it?  Will you join me in not backing down when our faith is challenged or ridiculed?  Will you join me, together on our knees? Will you….

Ideological Blahs and Gun Control

We have baby birds.  Four of them.  Nestlings now, since they have grown out of the hatchling phase.  They are safely in their nest in our grape arbor and all day long they peep the most ear-piercing sound I have ever heard.  I actually took an aspirin because my head was throbbing from hearing their helpless high-pitched squawks all day long as the parent birds continuously fed them. 

Why am I talking about birds?  Because the intensely annoying sound these helpless little things make reminds of the noise that hard-core ideologues make.

You know the type, the people who can take any event, comment, circumstance or holiday and put on a political spin on it and then use it to serve their own ideological values.  Then they don’t stop harping on it.  I know this type because I went through a phase like it myself.  (it takes one to know one?) Happily though,  I have matured through that stage in life and (if you read my last post you would already know) I am happy to simply identify myself as a faithful Catholic.

What has me on this anti-ideology rant?

See if this sounds familiar:

A crazed lunatic gunman enters a movie theater in Colorado and kills 12 innocent people, while wounding about 50 others.

The breaking news story as reported by the “liberal” press is that he is  T.E.A. Party member.   The liberal ideologues celebrate and cheer.

This is later proven false, the network apologizes.

Later it is discovered that the gunman was a member of the “Occupy Movement.”  The Conservative ideologues cheer and celebrate.  The media is silent.

The same day we begin to hear calls for gun control.  The liberals rallying around the horrible crime and proclaiming that it never would have happened if the government would just “get the guns already.”  The Conservatives for their part start their own raving and ranting about how it was a “No Gun Zone” and if someone had a gun they could have taken out the gunman.  Both ends of the ideological spectrum screaming and reciting their lines by rote.

“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”

“How many innocent people have to die before there are stricter gun control laws passed?”

“Protect the Second Amendment!”

“Ratify the UN Small Arms Treaty NOW!”

And around and around in circles they go.

Now, for the record, I am what ideologues call “Pro Second Amendment.”  I have an NRA sticker on my minivan and since I can’t haul around a policeman with me everywhere I go, I will settle for a Kimber micro-pistol tucked safely in my purse (or diaper bag) and pray I never ever have to use it.  That said, the talking points that are being spewed by both sides make me ill.

Now that we are in the throes of Presidential Political Mania everyone is looking for a political angle.  But that, my friends, isn’t exactly reality.  More often than not, evil is just evil.  It’s not concerned with ideology insofar as it allows the evil to happen.

And Evil happens.

That is what happened in Colorado.  An evil act carried out by a very sick, twisted individual.  What the gunman did was plain evil.  He should be punished and not made out to be some quasi-ante-hero, glorified by the never-ending news cycle.  Instead he should receive swift justice and then his name should not be spoken of.  He should receive counseling and if necessary an exorcism or prayers of deliverance. (For truly how can anyone commit such acts and NOT be under the willed influence of evil?)  We shall pray for his conversion and hope he repents.

There is a twistedness in our culture that makes us fascinated by those who commit acts such as these.  Remember the Uni-Bomber Halloween Costumes?  How much to you want to bet there will be people dressing up like this lunatic gunman?  We need to call a spade a spade, er, call evil, evil and then move on offering prayers and support to the families whose lives were forever changed that early morning.

Yet we have those who profess to be compassionate using this incident, as they use so many others, to advance a purely political agenda.  This is sick, folks.  Those families aren’t concerned with the political ramifications of what happened.  They want their loved ones back.  They want to be healed and whole.  They want this despicable deed to have never happened.   They deserve our compassion, our love, and our respect for their deceased.  NOT our politically motivated ideological spewing.

There is a time and place for politics, but politicizing a tragedy is beneath the decency of our humanity and I for one am quite sick of it.   I think I will go back and listen to the cheeping, squawking baby birds now.  At least their noise is innocent.

I am NOT a Conservative…

Something has been troubling me as of late.  I am attempting to put it to words here and hope to do justice to the Truth behind what I am about to write.

As you may or may not know, I have been quite busy in the political arena over the last year.  That (and a very serious hospitalization) have prevented me from writing as often and regularly as I would like.  My foray into politics has been quite an adventure, and as I become more involved I find myself facing a serious dilema.  I’m not a Conservative!

(the music stops and the soundtrack screeches as it rewinds)

That got your attention didn’t it?  I know what you are thinking,  “I’ve read your posts on here, hun, and you are so far “Right” that you put “Left” in its own time zone. 

Still I assure you,  I have to admit,  I am not a Conservative.  I say this with conviction.

What am I, then?

I am a Catholic.  A faithful Catholic. Yes, I am an American.  I am proud of my country.  I believe in the Founding Principles and the vision of the Founding Fathers.  I defend the Constitution and demand the same of my elected officials.  (Actually, I’d be floored if most of them would just READ it!)  I say the Pledge of Allegiance with my kids every morning and Sing “God Bless America” as loudly as I can.  I am your typical Southern “Gun-toting, Bible-reading, pro-life, bitter-clinger, less Government, more private enterprise, birther.”  I dress my kids up in red, white and blue and march on the Capitol when Congress disregards the will of the people.  All of this would seemingly qualify me for the ideological crown “Conservative.”  Yet, I do not subscribe to it.  I will not simply call myself a “Conservative.”  ”Catholic Conservative”….eh…. maybe.

Why do I bother to make the distinction?  Because too often those who clothe themselves in ideological garments forget that ideologies are not perfect.  In fact ideologies can become a quasi-religion and that is dangerous ground.  Ideologies create “group think”  and “group think” lends itself to distortion and too easily forgets the Truth.  You see, when you have “Group Think” you cease to have individual persons thinking for themselves.   You also end up with issues that become “black and white” and sometimes they really aren’t that simple. 

What got me started on this politically themed tirade is none other than President Obama’s blatant disregard for our Constitution and his defacto Executive Order granting “amnesty” (immunity…call it what you will) to thousands of illegal immigrants.  Now before you get upset at what I am going to say next, let  me preface it with this:  What Obama did was WRONG.  He went outside the law and that is not acceptable.  The President is not above the law nor is he above the Constitution and his enumerated powers.  The Obama Administration’s complete lack of respect not only for the will of the people in this nation but for our laws as well is astonishing and frightening.  Furthermore, this action is so obviously a campaign stunt to appeal to a particular voting demographic its embarrassing.  He is using a group of people (in this case illegal immigrants) to play political games.  This is disingenuous at best and cold-hearted utilitarianism at worst.

That said, I have to admit that it is this issue that has crystalized for me the reasons why I am not purely “Conservative.”  I have seen and heard so much hatred and anger from self-proclaimed conservatives directed not only at the President but at “illegals”  that I have been cringing. The issue of immigration reform is widely accepted as a Conservative platform issue.  We all know the hot points: secure the border, enforce the laws on the books, empower the states to protect themselves, no amnesty, deport deport deport and so on.   The problem is, in becoming – dare I say it - ideologically narrow minded - is that conservatives become issue focused and not people focused.

That, my friends is at the crux of my dilemma.  It is why I will not settle for being called a “Conservative.”  I believe that politics should be and must be person-centric.  Not issue-centric.  Not group-centric. Person-centric.  Conservatives on the whole tend to be person-focused when it comes to the unborn (except sometimes the suffering mom, the poor abortion minded woman gets stuck in the crossfire).  But when it comes to other issues, especially immigration, person-centric politics goes out the window.   This is troubling.  It is also dangerous for a Nation who is striving to get back to her Judeo-Christian roots.

I am completely in agreement that those who break our laws should be held responsible.  A Nation who enables law breaking is sick.  A Nation who encourages it is even sicker.  I believe that the path to citizenship should be streamlined and made accessible to those who wish to become Americans.   I am all for English as a National Language and for tight border security.  I am not, however, in agreement that illegal immigrants are evil bloodsuckers that are sucking the life-blood out of our country.  They are people.   Lumping them into an ambiguous group “illegals”  dehumanizes them, and therefore makes it easier on our consciences to say things about them that one would never think of saying to them in person.

The issue of illegal immigration is NOT as easy as “deport deport deport” simply because it is an issue about people.  As such, we must approach the issue while keeping the person- their plight, their situation, and their dignity – at the center of it.  If we do this we can then, and only then, begin to develop an answer to how we solve the problem that illegal immigration is to our society.  I do not pretend to have a full and comprehensive solution at the ready.  I do have some ideas on how we keep the issue focused on people and not on depersonalized groups. But more importantly, my goal here is to point out that my Faith informs me that I cannot simply subscribe to an ideology that may cause me to forget or give up my understanding of politics as service to people, and that even in the case of illegal immigrants, who many argue are not deserving of the benefits of our politics, we still MUST be focused on their individual humanity.  They are still people and any immigration solution we develop must respect their dignity as such.

These are heady issues, and in many cases, if we strive to see political issues through the light of Truth and Faith we are forced beyond the confines of pure ideology or political party politics.  This is GOOD!  This is going out into the deep and seeking to see persons, nations, and issues through the eyes of Christ.  Christ was compassionate, He was also Just.  Surely if we see the issues facing us today through HIS eyes, we can come up with solutions and laws that reflect not only Justice but that are created for the good of the people that this Nation’s politics serve.

Seriously, Ladies?! (part 1)

I am a Virginia transplant. I have come to love my new home state.  Since I am originally from New Jersey I like to call myself a “Southern Yankee.”   (No, I do NOT say “Joisey” and NO NO NO I do not know anyone who even closely resembles Snookie – in looks or attitude).  I tell you this to explain two things: 1) why I am about to unload about the VA UltraSound Bill and the HHS mandate, and 2) why I am going to do it with a little bit of Jersey Snark.

Generally I try to keep these posts snark free and save the wittiness and Jersey ‘Tude for my Mommy Blog (5 and Counting…Musings of a Missionary Mommy) but truly I just can’t help myself.  The level of completely unabashed absurdity is reaching a fever pitch and I just CAN’T keep from saying something.

Here in Virginia a Law was passed that requires a woman seeking an abortion to receive an ultrasound.  (A lot of hubbub was made over a supposed provision that would require an “invasive” transvaginal ultrasound.  However this was never actually in the proposed legislation and was simply a scare tactic used by those who wished to see the bill fail.   For the record though, how can a woman possibly decry how “invasive” and demeaning a transvaginal ultrasound is when she is asking to undergo an abortion – which is a heck of a lot more invasive – and demeaning!?  It boggles the mind!!)  Despite the best and most vitriolic efforts of those from the pro-abortion lobby, the Bill was passed into law.  It is ridiculous to me the amount of anger and “action” this new law has stirred up.

I kid you not – there is a CANDLELIGHT VIGIL at the VA State House in order to commemorate or mourn or [insert word that describes emotions equally as "devastating"]  the “rights of women that are being lost” because of the passage of this law.  I am not making this up.  How much more insane can this get!?  A  Candle Light Vigil.  To mourn an ultrasound!?  Honey last time I checked ultrasounds didn’t infringe on anyone’s rights.  It’s a simple and safe medical procedure.  Hmm… isn’t that what they like to say about that abortion you are wanting to get?   Furthermore, an ultrasound is supposed to already be used to make sure the abortion would be safe;  even in the case of RU-486 the “do it yourself abortion” drug!  In fact in the case of RU-486 NOT getting an ultrasound to confirm gestational age could result in some very serious complications for mom (well you would call her a client, but I like to call it how I see it.)

So let’s get this straight. There are women who have their uteruses (uteri?) all in a twist over a law that would actually make abortions safer.  Yet somehow this is taking away women’s rights?  Ladies, you can do better than this.  You are making us all look bad.

Yes, I know that the point of the bill is so that women will see who they are aborting (ahem, killing).  But this isn’t an infringement on their rights either!  Its called informed consent.  In the medical world in order to have a procedure done, the patient must give informed consent.  Informed Consent is a RIGHT that all “patients” have.  By NOT showing the women what is going on in their bodies a woman’s right to informed consent is being violated.  In the world of medical procedures and informed consent there is NO such things as “too much information.”  You can’t make an informed judgement without it! In the jargon of the abortion industry: there is a “thing” inside the woman’s body that she wants removed.  She DESERVES to see what that “thing” is, where “it” is, and what “it” looks like before “it” is sucked out or ripped to shreds – inside her.  She also deserves to know that “it” has a heartbeat.  This isn’t coercion.  It’s not manipulation, it’s not cruelty to women, its RIGHT and its proper to the rules of informed consent regarding her “procedure.”

So, ladies, what exactly are you “mourning” out there around the Richmond Capital Complex?  The loss of ignorance?  Oh no, wait, I’m sorry, you would prefer that women who want to have abortions remain ignorant of the entirety of the procedure. My mistake.  I thought for a moment you actually cared about REAL women’s rights issues.  Instead you are brainwashed and duped into towing an absurd party line that pretends to celebrate women all the while exploiting them, using them for political gain, and lying to them about their bodies.  As we used to say in Jersey, “My bad.”

(stay tuned for part 2 – Seriously Ladies!? The Double Take!)

It started with the Catholics

I figured it was about time that I add my two cents on this whole Obamacare/Healthcare/Mandate/Contraception discussion.   This could very well be a defining moment in America.  How we as Catholics handle this could determine much about our future.  Do you think I am being melodramatic?  I wish I were. 

First lets review just what is going on here.  This is from the USCCB website:

The HHS has issued a rule forcing nearly all private health plans to include coverage for all FDA-approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, as well as surgical sterilization. These are listed among “preventive services for women” that all health plans will have to cover without co-pays or other cost-sharing — regardless of whether the insurer, the employer or other plan sponsor, or even the woman herself objects to such coverage.

The exemption provided for “religious employers” is so narrow that it fails to cover the vast majority of faith-based organizations, including Catholic hospitals, universities, and service organizations that help millions every year. Ironically, not even Jesus & his disciples would have qualified.

For those of you unfamiliar with the acronym “HHS”, it stands for Health and Human Services, a department of the government that describes itself thusly:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.  (for more go to www.hhs.gov)

This department is headed by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and is the principle agency charged with carrying out the implementation of “Obamacare” (along with the IRS).  So under this brave new rule of law called Obamacare, when HHS says that something is a “mandate” it is considered law.  Yes, folks, when we warned that Obamacare would change the very scope of government and how laws are made we weren’t exaggerating.  Now, what does that have to do with contraception and the Catholic Church?

On January 20, 2012, Secretary Sebelius finalized the mandate on “preventative care” that is to be included in the current “Obamacare law.”  Why just now you ask?  Because when the fight for Obamacare was being waged back in ’09 the opposition from the Bishops and Catholics was so severe that the administration “punted” this particular mandate and kicked it down the road.   You see they feared for the bill’s passage and in effect saw that if they went for this at the time, Obamacare would have never passed.  So they figured they could wait until 2012 when no one would be looking and get the contraceptive mandate included at THAT time.  Well, folks, it IS that time.  And your religious freedom is at stake.

This mandate is a thinly veiled attempt to prevent Churches from exercising their rights – namely their right to Freedom of Religion.  Disguised as a “women’s health issue” this has less to do with women’s health and much more to do with the Government flexing its muscle and seeing what it can get away with.   As a woman I find it nauseating that I am being used as a pawn in this disgusting power grab.  Hearing things like “The Church is once again hurting women” makes my blood boil.  Hearing the President of NARAL make ridiculous statements about the Church and what her “interests” are make me stark raving mad.

Lets get one thing straight.  The Church IS and ALWAYS HAS BEEN a defender and protector of women.  She has ALWAYS stood up for women and for their dignity.  And she is doing so now.  How sad that women like Nancy Keenan (President of NARAL Pro-Choice America) claim to be sticking up for women while what they are really doing is espousing a very flawed belief that birth control is “liberating” and abortion is a right.  But I digress.  (If you’d like to hear me spout off more on this topic I suggest A PERSONal Choice , Birth Control Breast Cancer and the Exploitation of Women )

What is happening before our eyes is nothing less than the Obama Administration attempted to prevent the Catholic Church from practicing its Faith.  This is UNPRECEDENTED since the time of King George!!  This is HUGE! This is downright scary!  Whats worse is that if we do not stand up and fight this RIGHT NOW, more of these types of assaults on Religious Freedom are going to happen.  Its starting with the Catholics.

It is absolutely imperative that you and I NOT remain silent.  We must join with the Bishops who have been brave enough to speak out; Bishops like Cardinal-Designate Dolan, President of the United Catholic Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Broglio, Bishop of the Archdiocese for Military Services, and Bishop Zubik of Pittsburgh (http://bit.ly/yuT7WF).   In fact to date there are about 120 Bishops who have spoken out against this assault on the Church and on freedom.  I will publish the whole list at the bottom of this post.  We must encourage these Shepherds as they do what many before them have feared to do – speak out directly against the Government.  We must let these defenders of Faith know that we stand with them and that we WANT them to stand firm for the Truth and for Freedom.  In every age it has been the CHURCH who has defended peoples from injustice and tyranny.  This is part of her legacy.  It is part of the mission of the Church Militant.  And it is time for Her to fulfill this Mission in America.  Yes, even in America.  Bishop Zubik said it so well when he stated:

“Let’s be blunt, this whole process of mandating  these guidelines undermines the democratic process itself. In this  instance, the mandate declares pregnancy a disease, forces a culture of  contraception and abortion on society, all while completely bypassing  the legislative process.

“This is government by fiat that attacks the rights of everyone–not  only Catholics; not only people of all religion,” said the bishop. “At  no other time in memory or history has there been such a governmental  intrusion on freedom not only with regard to religion, but even  across-the-board with all citizens.”

He is absolutely right.  So what are we to do?  How do we stand up for our Faith?  How do we literally fight against the Government?  This is certainly a daunting prospect since we live in a nation where we are supposed to have Religious Freedom.  Nevertheless it is the reality we face, and our complacency could spell the demise of the rest of our freedoms.  We must not be silent.  We must heed the words of Bishop Conley,

“If plans go unchanged, the Catholic Church, acting through our  Catholic institutions, will no longer have legal protection for the free  exercise of religion,” he said in a column posted on the diocesan website. “Secretary Sebelius is wrong; this is  not a year to ‘adapt.’ The Catholic Church will not adapt by violating  fundamental elements of our faith. Instead of adapting, this is a year  to unify, and to fight injustice and flagrant disregard for the  institutional protection of our religious practice.

“The recent decision by HHS should make clear for all Catholics that  under the proposed health care plan, the freedom to practice our  religious faith is in jeopardy.”

We must listen to Archbishop Gomez’s call to action:

“But the issues here go far beyond contraception and far beyond  the liberties of the Catholic Church,” said Archbishop Gomez. “They go  to the heart of our national identity and our historic understanding of  our democratic form of government.”

“But this is clear: Now is a time for Catholic action and for  Catholic voices,” said Archbishop Gomez. “We need lay leaders to step up  to their responsibilities for the Church’s mission. Not only to defend  our faith and our rights as Catholics, but to be leaders for moral and  civic renewal, leaders in helping to shape the values and moral  foundations of America’s future.”

It is time for us to not be silent.  To not simply wait and see what others do.  It is time to defend our Faith, and stand up for our right to practice it.  In the words of John Paul II, “Be Not Afraid!”  We are speaking the Truth and we are standing up for the Truth, for Truth and Freedom go hand in hand.  We mustn’t be complacent, we must be strong and courageous.  “For if Christ is for us, who could be against us?”

Now is the time, my friends.  For if we do not do something now, today, in a generation from now, when our grandchildren ask us, “When did America stop being free?”  we will be forced to answer, “Well, it started with the Catholics.”

Culture and History, a Key to Healing Our Nation

Wow! Its been quite a while since I’ve managed to post here.  For my loyal readers, I apologize.  I’ve been on quite a ride!  Some of you may know that until Saturday, December 3, 2011, I was working for Herman Cain in his bid for the Presidency.  What a fun and eye-opening experience that was!  I was honored to be his State Director for Virginia, and to help with the organization of the grassroots activists.  I know his decision to leave the race was ALL about protecting his family and marriage, and I admire him even more for making the  difficult decision he did.  May God Bless him and his family!

But that’s not what I want to write about.  Well, not really.

You see I became involved with Mr. Cain’s campaign because I decided that something needed to happen in this country of ours to put us back on the right track.  The words of Blessed John Paul II kept turning over in my mind, “True holiness does not mean a flight from the world; rather, it lies in the effort to incarnate the Gospel in everyday life, in the family, at school and at work, and social and political involvement.”  I was beginning to get scared for my children and their future and I knew I had DO something -  just as the late Pope suggested.  By the Grace of God I ended up supporting Mr. Cain and eventually working for him.  While being on the National Stage and riding freight elevators with the potential next President of the United States and his Staff is heady stuff, and it has the potential to make one’s ego inflate, I was not in it for me.  I was doing this for my kids,  for my country, and because I believe God led me to it.

Now here I am, newly unemployed, and yet at peace, because I am still pursuing the same goal: Renewing the Culture; putting God BACK into the culture of America, where He belongs, and reclaiming our land and its people for Christ.  My mission has not changed, God has just seen fit to change my landscape and mission field a bit.

So where do we go from here?  Well, for one thing, I will hopefully by able to post more often and share with you my thoughts on how we as women accomplish this incredible task of renewal, re-evangelization, and reclamation.  I am also planning on developing Daughters of the Heavenly King further and am hoping to launch some groups “on the ground” sometime in the coming year.   I hope you will join me in that endeavor!

For the immediate moment, though, this moment that you and I are sharing together, I want to talk about how crucial culture and history are to the renewal and reclamation of America.

I have been reading George Weigel’s Biography on Pope John Paul II, A Witness to Hope.  As I read through the different areas and aspects of the Late Pontiff’s life I have been repeatedly struck by the importance John Paul II placed on the Culture of a Nation.  Not just Pop-Culture, but the historical, deep-rooted culture that defines a Nation as it ages.  A culture that becomes richer because it recognizes from where it came.  It was through a cultural renewal that Poland defeated the Soviet Iron grip.  It was through a cultural renewal – a renewal based on the Truth that Christ is at the center of every culture, because culture is for man, and Christ is THE MAN and is living in each of us – that the Soviet Satellites were able to throw off the yoke of tyranny.  A culture that embraces Christ is a culture that MUST embrace Freedom and Truth, for Christ IS Truth, and one must have the Freedom to acknowledge that Truth.

America is in danger of LOSING her cultural identity.  THIS is the greatest threat to our Nation.  Not the economy, not the War on Terror, not the overspending, the  elitism or the “establishment politics.”  The greatest threat to America is the cultural decline that she is experiencing because everything else is a “symptom” of it.  A Nation with a strong cultural identity is a Nation with citizens who are secure in their ability to work hard and prosper.  A country with strong ties to its history and cultural past is a country that will fight to preserve those ties and to protect its culture and citizens from those who would destroy that way of life.  A Nation that recognizes Christ as the center of society, and in doing so, recognizes that man is not created for society, but that society exists for man, will have policies and laws that reflect the dignity of life, the dignity of persons, and will protect the just due of those persons.   You see, it all comes back to culture and history - rooted in Christ.

Our task is to advance our society towards Jesus.  What a great thing to focus on during Advent!  Just as the Magi kept pressing on until they found Christ, so too must we keep pressing forward, bringing our Nation back along the path of a Christo-centric Culture. Just as St. John the Baptist cried out in the desert so too must we cry out in the cultural desert, “Make straight a highway for God!”  We must be the ones who restore and renew our culture.  We do this, as Pope John Paul II suggested , in everyday life.  Living the Gospel.  Speaking the Truth.  Not being afraid to witness to that Truth.  THAT is how we start.  The time is now.  We cannot afford to wait or to hope someone else will do the work for us.  God has called each of us to this time and place so that we may Proclaim Him and His Truth.  It is through Him and His Truth that we will be free.  It is through Christ that we will reclaim our culture.

Let us not be complacent!  Let us “Open wide the doors to Christ” in our homes, our schools and our offices!  Lets us welcome Him into the realms of politics and enertainment.   Lets us “Put out into the Deep, and open our nets for a catch” as we proclaim the Truth of our history and our culture!

May God Bless your beautiful feminine hearts.  Its good to be back!!

A Bold Proposal – A President and Pope

Islamo-Fascism: The NEW Iron Curtain

**Disclaimer: For the purposes of this blog post “Islamo-facism” refers to Islamic extremism – which is practiced by Muslims who believe in and support violent ”jihad” against non-muslims, and Shariah law and its supremacy – even to the laws of other nations. It does NOT refer to those Muslims who believe theirs is a religion of peace and practice it as such.**

I want to propose something that may seem a little bold, maybe a little crazy, and I welcome your comments.

Twenty-something years ago Pope John Paul II worked to bring a peaceful end to Communism in Europe and throughout the world. Simultaneously, President Ronald Reagan worked to the same end. While there was no USA-Vatican conspiracy to bring down the Iron Curtain, there WAS, according to Papal Biographer George Weigel, a mutual understanding and respect, and a willingness to support each other’s efforts between John Paul II and Reagan. Both men understood that their cooperation and faith-based efforts on the world stage would eventually accomplish what many thought was impossible: The virtual end of Communisms’ reach and stronghold in the Eastern Bloc of Europe, and in many other nations. Sure, communism in some form still limps lamely along in the world – most notably in small nations like Cuba and in some South American countries, but the width and breadth of Communism’s grip is no where even close to what it was before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and lifting of the Iron Curtain. Even in countries where communism still exists it is not the same “brand” of totalitarian control that it was back when the Soviet Socialist Republic was in power, and its days are numbered as it is slowly being eroded and replaced by freedom.

I think it is safe to say (and many historians would agree – both secular and Catholic) that the Communist threat, that Communism’s “religion” of the State, was effectively brought to its knees and ended by the mutual respect, understanding, and sometimes cooperation of a Pope and a President.

Let us look now at today. While communism was the threat of the later 20th Century, it is Islamic Extremism that is the threat of 21st. Theocrats who wish to convert or exterminate all but those who profess Allah as he is described in the Koran are determined to take the world by violent force – and are driven by their belief that this is their “divine calling.” These individuals believe that their own form of law must replace the civil laws of society. Laws that require honor killings, beheadings, and burqas. To think that we are immune to this theocratic madness is naive and dangerous. Already we have seen here in the US an effort to bring Shariah Law into our land. Already we have been attacked on our own soil for being “infidels” (non-believers). My friends, this is the global threat of our time.

Why do I bring this up here? Because throughout history it has been the Catholic Church who has stood for freedom and Truth. In the face of persecution, heresy, globalism, communism, fascism, and now, Islamic Extremism. The Church has unabashedly professed that true Freedom is only available if the person is able to choose it. Freedom, John Paul II reminded us, isn’t freedom if one’s dignity is not respected. Freedom means having the ability to worship God as He would have us worship Him. Islamic extremism, Shariah law, are the antithesis of freedom. This brand of Islam does not respect the dignity of its own followers. Women are treated as objects whose only mission is to bear more Muslim boys, and who are at fault for the sins of men. Burqas and headscarves are not worn out of respect. They are imposed on women because women’s bodies are seen as vile and sinful. The Catholic Church has a very different message for women: The Truth of their God-given dignity as persons created in His image!

Shariah Law is directly opposed to our Faith by the very fact that it excludes all other faiths but itself – and requires those who do not profess Islam to be killed. This is a fundamental heresy – the Gospel of Christ is about proclaiming the Truth and about Christ’s Redemption – and about the free will of people to choose or reject the Truth.  This Truth is available and should be proclaimed to all. Shariah Law is in direct opposition to the Gospel of Christ!

Much like its twisted cousin, Communism, Islamic Extremism is the enemy of Freedom and dignity. Islamo-fascism is the newest form of totalitarianism to rear its head on the world stage.

Consider this excerpt from Witness to Hope, the biography of John Paul II:
” To carry out its primary task, the Church asked the world for the freedom in which to make its evangelical proposal, and the Church asked that the world consider the possibility of its redemption. That was all the Church asked, but the very asking had public implications, for only a certain kind of state could grant what the Church asked. The Church’s basic evangelical mission made the Church anti-totalitarian, because the things the Church asked of the world set boundaries on the reach and pretensions of Government.
The Church that evangelizes is always a public Church, for evangelization is always a public proposal and both the making of the proposal and its content have public consequences. Yet the Church engages the world not as another contestant for power, but as a witness to the truth about the human person, human community, human history, and human destiny…This was the kind of “public Church” envisioned by the Second Vatican Council,…and the kind of public Church John Paul II …intended to foster.
John paul II’s evangelically focused view of history and politics helps get into focus his relationship with another salient actor on the world stage in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States,
The Pope and the president held certain common convictions. They both believed that communism was a moral evil, not simply wrongheaded economics. They were both confident of the capacity of free people to meet the communist challenge. Both were convinced that, in the contest with communism, victory, not mere accommodation, was possible. Both had a sense of the drama of late twentieth-century history, and both were confident that the spoken word of truth could cut through the static of communism’s lies and rouse people from their acquiescence to servitude.“

I bring all this up because I want to propose that we may be on the cusp of another great alliance of Pope and President. Another instance where the Truth universally proclaimed by Christ’s Church on earth – the Church militant – is also supported by a wise and faithful President yet to be elected. This time though, it would be to fight the creeping influence of Islamic-Extremism and the totalitarianism of Extremist Regimes by a bold proclamation of the Truth.

It is no secret how Herman Cain feels about Islamic Extremists and Shariah law. It should also not be a shock that Pope Benedict the XVI has had some very pointed things to say about certain factions of Islam, and that he refuses to categorize it as a “religion of peace.” When asked by a reporter if he would describe it as such, he replied, “”I would not like to use big words to apply generic labels,” he replied. “It certainly contains elements that can favor peace, it also has other elements: We must always seek the best elements.” (13 Sept 2006).

Could it be that once again, in the drama of Divine Providence, that the stage is being set for Christ’s Church on earth, and the “shining City on a Hill” to confront the evil of our time?  Could it be that this upcoming election is much more than “just another election cycle?”  Maybe I sound crazy, but I think that it is.

God never imposes His Divine Will on His people – individually or collectively.  It truly is up to US to Trust His Will and follow where He leads.  I am confident in Mr Cain’s sincerity when he says he made the decision to run for President on his knees.  I am also confident that he has the absolute best chance at succeeding.  Above all, I KNOW he will not succeed without the support and the prayers of people like you and me.

At this juncture in history – with so much at stake - I am not willing to sit idly by and watch our country slowly erode away. Not from the threat of a moral decline, an economic decline, or a decline in National Security and Vigilance.  I ask  you to join me in praying for our nation and if you so choose, in praying for Mr Herman Cain as well.

I do not know what the future holds, but with a President Herman Cain in the White House, I am confident in the possibilities, and if that day does indeed come, I am also confident that a friendship between a Pope and President would once again be an anecdote for our world.