Opinions expressed by Brother Bubba are solely his own and are not intended to reflect the official opinions or policies of the Order of the Legion of St. Michael, its apostolates, members, benefactors, or constituents.
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Obamanation: a new song for our nation 9:11 PM
MONDAY OF THE TWELTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Feast of St. Thomas More (1535), Martyr, Patron of Lawyers Feast of John Fisher (1535), Bishop, Martyr Feast of Paulinus of Nola (1601), Bishop
My Beloved:
I have found a new theme song for our age from the Country stylings of Ed Montana. The song is called Obamanation:
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Iranian People Plead for Justice 6:02 PM
SATURDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Feast of St. Silverius (538), Pope, Martyr
My Beloved:
The Iranian people are pleading for a basic human right -- free and just elections and other basic human and civil rights that all peoples in the world have a right to expect from their governments.
The situation is exploding in the streets of Tehran. Dozens have been killed and hundreds injured. Police have arrested citizens in their hospital beds. It has been reported that the government has used "hot" chemicals on the protesters. Hot chemicals are acidic substances that can burn. According to reports helicopters have dumped these chemicals on some protesters.
In the face of these horrors the President has been insensitive by "measured" and subdued rhetoric at first. Only today did the President up the rhetoric.
"We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people," Obama said in a written statement. "The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."
This is too little to late. More is needed. The United States fancies itself as arbiters of human rights, freedom, and democracy. If we are to be in that role then we need to condemn, not "call" to stop, the actions of the Iranian government. Obama's notion that we cannot step on toes, especially the toes of Muslim governments, is moral cowardice.
Ronald Reagan was able to maintain diplomacy with the Soviet Union while at the same time saying publicly that the Soviet Union was an evil empire. But, then Reagan had moral courage.
We need to be in concerted prayer for the people of Iran, and for the President to have moral courage, for a change, in the face of this crisis.
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Dear Mr. President. Before you kill more babies 12:01 AM
FRIDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Feast of St. Romuald (1027), Abbot, Founder
Dear Mr. President:
You have the distinction in history of supporting and facilitating the killing of babies from conception to birth more than any President in the history of our country.
I beg you Mr. President, before you allow the killing of even one more little child, please watch this video:
MONDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER Feast of St. Zita (1278), Virgin, Patroness of Domestic Workers
My Beloved:
In Ephesians 6:14-17 St. Paul uses the analogy of the armor of the Roman soldier to teach a message to Christians about the nature of God and of the duty of his children. To put on the armor of God is needed today more than ever.
We are at war. This warfare is a spiritual one and as such requires spiritual weapons. God gives us what is needed -- the weapons -- truth, righteousness (justice), peace, faith, salvation, and his Spirit and his Word. These "weapons" along with prayer (v. 18) are how we may protect ourselves against the wiles of the devil and to otherwise wage this spiritual war as God directs us.
What follows is one interpretation of how this armor analogy may work to express the basis message St. Paul is teaching.
We are to wear the FULL armor of God. Here is picture of the full armor of a Roman Soldier:
1) It is interesting that the Scripture lists the Belt of Truth first. This is significant because the belt is one of the most important pieces in a soldier's armor. The belt holds the weapons he will use in battle. The analogy here is that our participation in the battle must be founded upon Truth. It is from Truth that all else is accomplished. Here is the soldier's Belt:
2) The Breastplate is a critical piece of armor that protects the vital organs of the soldier (e.g., heart, lungs, viscerals). For us our vital spiritual organs is our heart (spirit) and our humanness (e.g., emotions, feelings) to which is protected from the devil trying to influence and manipulate our spirit, emotions, and feelings so as to cause us to drop our guard to make us vulnerable. Righteousness, justice, and right action gives us this protection against Satan's attempts to lead us into sin. Here is the breastplate:
3) The sandal is also important for without it the soldier cannot be prepared to fight in battle -- his footing can slip or his feet can be injured. Our preparation for battle (with the Gospel of Peace) is based upon the life, death, and resurrection of Christ (the Good News). Through Jesus and the peace He brings to those who believe in him, gives us the boldness, confidence, perseverance, and peace as to do this spiritual battle. Without this Gospel we cannot prevail in spiritual battle. We must always be ready to walk forward in witness to our Lord. Here are the sandals of the soldier:
4) The soldier cannot wage battle on his own without armor. The shield provides him with flexible defensive capacity to avert arrows of the enemy from whatever direction they came. For us this shield that averts the flaming arrows of the devil is our faith. Without faith, like the soldier without his shield, we are vulnerable to the arrows and blows of the enemy. Here is the shield:
5) The Helmet was another critical piece of armor as it protects the head of the soldier. For us this helmet is the deliverance of the salvation that Christ obtains for us. We cannot do it alone. Through Christ we are delivered in spirit, in body, and in mind. The helmet is the symbol of our deliverance and of the protection of our deliverance from evil and death that our salvation in Christ provides. Here is the helmet:
6) Finally, is the primary weapon of battle. A skilled soldier can use the sword with precision defense and attack. In combination with the shield the soldier has an impressive and effective ability to wage war. For us, the sword is the Spirit, the Word of God, which with the shield of our Faith, we use to pierce the hearts of the mightiest foes and to keep the demons at bay. Here is the soldier's sword:
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Hope in the Midst of Madness 5:50 PM
SATURDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist, Patron of Notaries
My Beloved:
The world is going mad. The values and traditions that created our Nation of the United States and made it great are crumbling. In the midst of this degeneration and even devolution of the spirit, there is yet hope.
Two-Thousand years ago there is a man who gave up his life for all of us -- the rich, the poor, the infirmed, the homeless, the hungry, the addicted, even for liberals. Through the sacrifice of this man, who is True Man and True God, Jesus Christ, the world is redeemed.
All that is happening is part of God's salvation plan. We ought to rejoice that God's purpose for human history is progressing on to the glorious day when Jesus returns and we will live with Him forever in the Heavenly country.
But, for that to happen, God the Father had to sacrifice His son.
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New World Order of Despotism Advances 1:01 PM
FRIDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT Feast of Sts. Philip (61) and James (62), Apostles. St. James Patron of Hatmakers
My Beloved:
The New World Order is advancing so quickly that it is hard to keep up with it. Not only has baby-killing become the aggressive policy of our government, and the nationalization of private companies and the systematic destruction of our economy leading to dependency on government, and plans for more, but now another fundamental human right has just received a major blow.
Obama and the liberal despots wish to force the rest of us to adhere to their perversions. This time it is an attack on the human right of freedom of conscience. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness cannot be realized without the freedom of conscience. But, then this regime is systematically destroying that clarion call of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Truly, the devil is in power in our government. Life has been cheapened not guaranteed, Liberty is disappearing because the despots are making way to force us to their perverted views such as the attack on conscience, and the Pursuit of Happiness is faltering in light of taxes, economic decline, and the resulting cost of living. All this is at the hands of people who do not value the American tradition and legacy, but wish to move America into the despotism that we fought a war to escape from.
The Catholic League issued this press release:
Yesterday an amendment introduced by Sen. Tom Coburn to protect the conscience of patients and health care providers was defeated by a vote of 56-41. The amendment was proposed in light of the Obama administration’s plans to rescind the rule, which was issued in December by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that protects the right of health care workers at federally-funded facilities to refuse to perform or be involved in medical procedures that violate their consciences.
“Francis Cardinal George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has called upon Catholics to let the government know that conscience protections are fundamental rights of Americans. He expressed concern that reversal of the current rule ‘would be the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism.’
“Failure to protect the right of conscience, combined with overturning the Mexico City Policy, supporting the United Nations Population Fund, funding embryonic stem cell research and nominating radical abortion rights supporter Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be the Secretary of HHS, sends the message to Catholics that their concerns are not important.
Indeed, Catholic concerns are tread upon without a care in the world, but more importantly the right to life and the right of conscious (both fundamental human rights) are being tread upon.
Cardinal George is correct, this is step away from democracy and toward despotism. Or as Pope Benedict calls it -- a "dictatorship of relativism."
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