What An Idiot!

What Is Life All About?

"The whole of human history is a tapestry woven by men and women, each making their individual way to heaven or hell."

The above quote, if considered thoughtfully, clears up so much confusion.  Why are there wars?  Why do children die?  Why do evil people flourish and become wealthy while simple, hard working people never seem to get a break?  Why is our country in so much financial trouble?  Why doesn't God hear our prayers and help us?

God always hears our prayers and always helps those who truly turn to him with faith and love.  Maybe that is why we suffer so.  How many of us truly believe in Him?  How many of us would gladly die now, today, in yearning to be with Him?  How many of us would give away everything we have for love of Him?  How many of us realize that heaven is EVERYTHING and this world is nothing.

Consider our world in the imaginary condition of having only ten people on it.  These are five men and five women who are five married couples who live in a community.  They care for each other.  They each work hard, not for personal gain, but for the gladness of heart that comes in serving God and fellow man.  They do not fight and they do not covet each other's possessions.  They raise their children to love God and one another.  If a child dies, they take comfort in God's infinite care and protection of a child that was always His from the beginning.  Where are the wars, the courts, the jails, the crimes, the despair?  There are none.  These things happen because we humans bring them on ourselves.

Stop coveting other men's possessions and successes; for you cannot know the true state of their souls.  Many people we hold up as examples of the happiest the world can produce, have souls which in the next life will occupy a place of suffering so terrible, you would never dream of trading places with them; not here and certainly, not there!

God watches everything, rights every wrong, soothes every ache and brings the good into His bosom.  We should not concern ourselves about the things of this world over which we have no control, but rather, should do the two things God does expect us to do:  Love and honor Him with our whole soul, mind, heart and body, and love our neighbor, even the annoying ones, as ourselves.

Trust Him; follow Him; obey Him and then you will find true peace.  Remember, in the end, it is heaven that we seek, not the riches of this world.  The past we cannot effect and the future will not care for us beyond the tales we leave.  The present is our test of fidelity, our pathway to our end destination.

Ave Maria

You have heard this masterpiece many times.  Now read the lyrics. 
Beautiful!

The Ave Maria was composed in about 1825 by Franz Schubert (1797-1828) when he was twenty-eight years old and filled with devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 Franz Schubert actually wrote the music for an excerpt from the poem "The Lady of the Lake" by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), which was translated into German by Adam Storck. Schubert called his piece Ellens dritter Gesang (Ellen's third song). In this particular excerpt from the poem the heroine, Ellen Douglas, is in hiding and prays to the Virgin Mary.

Amazing Irony And Liberal Ignorance (Or Arrogance)

David Gregory

This is an image of Meet the Press journalist David Gregory interviewing Senators Charles Schumer (NY) and Lindsey Graham (SC) on the sufficiency of current gun laws and the possibility of improvement in the wake of the recent mass shootings.  He is sitting at his desk in Washington D.C. waving a thirty round rifle magazine for emphasis. Simply having that high capacity magazine in his possession, in Washington D.C., is punishable by a felony conviction by the law already in force in D.C.

So which is it?  Did current laws fail to prevent his possession of a prohibited item and should be enforced regardless of his innocent intent, by prosecuting Mr. Gregory? Or is writing more laws that the innocent can stumble into pointless due to the fact that a man with less integrity than Mr. Gregory will violate them regardless of what they mandate?

This is a link to sign a White House petition to have Mr. Gregory prosecuted for his violation of already existing "common sense" gun laws.   http://wh.gov/QWZx

Deport Piers Morgan!

Let us deport Piers Morgan.  He has been shooting off his CNN mouth in support of gun control.  Sign this White House petition to get this British national out of our country and affairs.

 http://wh.gov/nLz7

How do you prove a negative?  While everyone can see the tragedy of twenty children murdered by a lunatic, how do you show every one of the million not dead citizens who used legal firearms, assault weapons included, not to be murdered each and every year?

For any American citizen who wishes to fight this latest attack on our basic constitutional right to own and bear arms in private and public for the protection of ourselves and those innocent, including children!, around us, I strongly encourage you to join the Gun Owners of America.  These guys make the National Rifle Association look like the double dealing creme puffs they are.

http://gunowners.org/

     

For Anyone Wishing To Live A Good Life

Part One:

While driving his car a young man enjoys the thrill of driving fast, really fast.  He feels that he is such a good driver, has razor sharp reflexes and is able to weave through traffic with such precision that the speed limit doesn’t really apply to him.  “That is for other people,” he thinks to himself.  Assuming that he is successful in avoiding a close, crunching encounter with another object, is he correct in his belief that the speed limit holds no authority over him?  What will happen when those dreaded flashing lights appear in his rearview mirror?   If he ignores the first set of flashing lights and presses on, will not more appear until their authority is manifested by brute force as they pull him out of his car?  Will not his protestations of immunity fall on deaf ears as he is presented with the dire consequences of his actions?

In our country today, there is a total lack of understanding of our rights and obligations in relation to lawful authority.  “Rights” are being made up out of thin air which are, not rights, but crimes and grave sins.  I hope to lay out for you a guide which will give you the power of discernment of what is right and what is wrong.

The highest level of authority is, of course, God.  The one true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, made everything that is.  This is the end of the climb as we move up the chain of authority.  There is no other.  Thus when He speaks all of creation, especially humans and angels, will be held responsible to His commands.  That He is an unimaginably good God, who wants the best for us, should make us eagerly desire to obey His commands, as a child knows how to obey his parents.  On this same authority level is Jesus.  As the second person of the Trinity, He is God.  He is also appointed to be our judge on the last day.

And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. [17]And seeing him they adored: but some doubted. [18] And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. [19] Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. Matt 28: 16-20 Douay-Rheims Bible

This is the commandment of Jesus which puts the Catholic Church over the entire world.  As I said earlier, when God speaks we should listen and obey.  It is through the Church that He speaks to humanity.  When the Church teaches that contraception is a grave evil this applies, to every human ever born, of every nation, every tribe and every belief.  Like the posted speed limit applies to everyone driving a particular road, this road is the road of life.  All the ethical teachings apply to everyone, teachings on marriage, co-habitation, homo-sexuality, divorce, etc.  Not believing it will not make the consequences of disobedience go away, but rather, will make the debts all the greater.  Conversely, simple, loving obedience will bring peace and joys which we cannot fathom.

Part Two:

Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. [18] And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [Matthew 16:18] [Latin] [19] And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. [20]Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ. Matt: 16; 16-20

This verse demonstrates again, the authority of the Catholic Church.  Notice the mark of real authority, the keys to heaven, given to a simple fisherman, Peter.  Simply put, when the Church declares a sin to be a sin that is what it is, end of argument.  There isn’t a vote of the people, it is not a matter of personal opinion, nor can anyone simply run around the Church waving his “Jesus get out of jail free card”.  Jesus is the One who gave that job to Peter and his successors.  Those successors are all the popes down the continual line to Benedict XVI, our current pope.  They bind us upon earth with the responsibility to be obedient to the teachings of Christ.  Again, all those sexual licenses that are running rampant are extremely grave.  If people die with those on their souls, they stay dead…worst of all, they are in hell.  Mary showed hell to some children, whom she appeared to at Fatima Portugal in 1917, just a quick peek.  They nearly died of horror and would have too, were it not for her spiritual support.  IT IS REAL!  Please never forget that, or believe the lies of those who would have us be complacent.  “Ooops!  I have already sinned!  The mean Church will send me to hell!”, one is tempted to shout.  Not true.  The Church sends no one to hell.  Quite the opposite, She works to help everyone to get to heaven.  She has the authority to loose upon earth as well.  She cannot simply discard the teachings of Christ and tell everyone “I’m OK, you’re OK.”  Christ did not give Her that much authority.  What She is charged to do is teach the commandments as they were given by Christ and help those who stumbled and fell.  This is through the sacrament of confession.  The sin must be confessed to a true priest with sincere contrition and a firm purpose to never repeat.  This is the loose upon earth teaching.  Without the Church it is very doubtful that anyone could make it through this world to heaven.  Is confession scary and painful?  No, it is the ultimate relief from spiritual pain and troubles.  It is the kindest gift God has ever given us besides Himself.  It is the true “get out of jail free card”.  “Your sins are forgiven.”  That is the most musical sound a person can hear when spoken with real authority.  You can almost hear the keys turning the lock as heaven is once again opened to you.  “Then, I can go ahead with the sin I want to do and confess it later.”  Certainly not! Can anyone be truly contrite and remorseful over a sin they are glad they committed?  Those two conditions of the heart are required.  Can one intentionally hurt a loved one for pleasure and claim to be sorry later? Further, there is forgiveness of sins and there is also restitution of the damage done.  This is where the redemptive value of loving suffering comes in, but that is another paper.  Trust me dear people, you do not want to commit one sin…ever.  Pray for help.  Never miss an obligatory Mass!

The complete hierarchy of authority is: God – Jesus – Catholic Church (Pope) – people – states – federal government.  My next letter will be about our true rights and obligations as Christians.  In the meantime, the next time you are surfing-the-web look up www.churchmilitant.com  and watch some videos of The Vortex.  They are very instructive as well as interesting.

May God bless you and may your heart swell with love of Him.

Part Three:

Why do I write these letters? The main reason is I love you as you are my family and I wish you happiness. Related to that is the harsh fact that the world is lying to you, in fact bombarding you with lies from every medium (TV, Internet, News, Friends, etc) which if followed can only lead to misery and despair. Finally, I believe that our country, the United States, is on the edge of a human tragedy. There will soon be suffering in this country that we find unimaginable now. Suffering brought to us by people who do not believe in our good God and do not believe in His divine justice. Without a sound moral compass as you try to cope with troubles you will certainly be lost. Time is short! With God though, you will be at peace, will know your duty and will not be afraid of anything, not even death.

My other letters outlined the descending order of true authority. God – Jesus – Catholic Church – people. Here, at the people, is where it gets messed up. The people rightfully form their world, their governments and their civic order. In a just world all these governments and laws would be in conformity with the teachings of the Church.  However, when people do not recognize the lawful limits to their authority as they manage these affairs then disunity, error and conflict enters the realm. Grasp this concept.  No one is able to pass through to another authority they do not themselves hold. Example: If I lend you my car for a week then you have the authority to drive it as you need. Do you have the authority to lend it to another? No. Do you have the authority to repaint it in your favorite color? Certainly not. The body of the people have real and true authority passed down from God through the above listed order to rightly form their worlds, but not unlimited authority. For example, they may certainly create civil laws defining how a man and a woman may apportion their property within a marriage. But they cannot define a marriage in any other fashion than what the Church requires, which is how Jesus requires, which is how God requires. If the people create the government how can they infuse the government with the power to do things they cannot themselves do? Now we see the so many errors, errors which only anger God and ruin people; fornication, homo-sexuality, cohabitation, divorce, remarriage, single parent childbearing, contraception, etc. Worse still, the people are clamoring to have the government codify these grave sins into law! This can only bring our people abject misery.

There is another way to have temporal authority. That is to simply take it by force. “I will not obey!” is the battle cry of the sinner. Adam and Eve started it and it continues through this day. The Catholic Church has the lawful authority to define the true morality as she obeys the command of Jesus to “teach”. Each and every one of the other “churches” began their time with that awful battle cry. This is the great error of Protestantism.  Every Protestant church began at this level, the level of people declaring their independence from higher authority, the Catholic Church.  This has brought us the mass confusion of our time. Rather than One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church teaching with one voice the true will of God, we have thousands of conflicting and babbling churches teaching errors and anything desired by human will. Listen to the Catholic Church. Read her long history. Obey her precepts. Never miss an obligatory Mass!  Here you will find peace, order, quietude of soul and the true happiness God wishes for you.  Here you will learn courage, born of faith that will withstand anything evil can throw at you. Here you will find God.

May God bless each of you.

Part Four:

As we descend down the lawful hierarchy of authority we see the formation of states; God – Jesus – Catholic Church – People – States.  People form states to protect their mutual interests.  We need order, peace and mutual understanding in our daily pursuits.  As an example, try to play the game of Monopoly without using the printed rules.  The game wouldn’t get very far.  The people have, over time, formed the structures we call government so as to promote those favorable characteristics of society I mentioned above.  From our collective authorities we empower the state to form and enforce laws for our mutual benefit.  However, we do not pass through to the state our complete set of authority and rights.  We retain the right of property ownership, privacy in our affairs, right to bear arms for righteous reasons, our moral obligations, freedom to come and go, to pursue wealth and even the right to modify or replace the state.  The interest of the state is to insure that our activities do not harm others, either personally, physically or materially.  However, the state oftentimes forgets their reason to be and begin to abuse their authority, thus our right to replace them in extreme cases.  This has formed organically over eons.  That is why the Declaration of Independence states:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

I live in Virginia.  You may live in another.  These states are among fifty in our country.  The federal government was formed so as to protect the mutual interests of the several states in areas of concern.  Specifically, before the adoption of the United States Constitution, which state could speak for the others in international negotiations; which state could raise an army sufficient to protect all thirteen; which state should print the money we all would use; who decides standard measurements and economic practices?  These and many more concerns were the motivations for adopting the Constitution.  So we find the bottom of the hierarchy, the very bottom; the federal government; God – Jesus – Catholic Church – People – States – Federal.  Again, who formed the Federal Government?

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Now with an understanding of this eternal line of authority you can discern the good from the bad; the true from the erroneous.  For example, a young couple goes to a priest wishing to marry.  They marry with the blessings of the Catholic Church.  The state they reside in recognizes their marriage for civil reasons.  They fall away from each other.  They approach the state for a divorce.  Can you see the dichotomy?  They lawfully married with the blessings of the Church in conformity to Her authority, but when it came to divorce they went down the chain for relief.  It is not possible to morally divorce because the Church forbids it and retains that on them.  If they are a part of the People who formed the state how could they give authority to the state to create a divorce when they had not the right themselves?  In reality, the only thing the state will be able to do for them is to apportion their properties between them and to declare that for future property and tax purposes they are separate.  In the realm of God they remain married and bound to the restrictions thereof, no other sexual partners, cannot marry another, etc.  That is what they will be held to on the Final Judgment.  The People and the States can declare otherwise until doomsday, but that won’t change anything about it.  Do not fall for that lie.

Another example is the “same sex” marriage controversy.  Is it possible for the federal government to create such a thing?  No.  Was it licit for them to say that abortion was constitutional?  No.  Lies, lies, lies and damned lies!  Worse, we now have government goons who are trying to enslave us to their service.  This has become possible only because our People have abandoned their lawful place in the hierarchy and have neglected their duty to obey it and to see that the governments keep to their lower place.  Everyone has an internal need to know that there is an ultimate authority that has our interests at heart.  The trouble is, if we write out God – Jesus – Catholic Church, the descending order flips over and leaves us with Federal Government – State – People.  Look who is on the bottom now and who is now in the place of God, defining marriage, approving abortion, mandating contraception, same sex "marriage", etc.

This is why it is imperative that you learn and embrace Catholic teaching.  Without it we are certainly the blind being led by the blind and evil.  At this point, the first American Republic is dead.  It will not be revived.  In the cultural storm that we are about to be pounded with, the Catholic Church will be your refuge.  May God bless each of you and don’t miss Mass!

Part Five:

I have encouraged you to attend Mass without fail.  There are several serious reasons for this, which I will try to explain - as if the incomprehensible could be explained!  Dear Lord, help me here.  First, what is the Mass?  The Mass is the most perfect act of adoration, supplication, offering and thanksgiving humanly possible, for God created it and He is actually there Body, Soul and Divinity.  In the Old Testament we see time and time again the Israelites sacrificing animals in an attempt to mollify God’s anger with our sins.  Indeed, animal sacrifice was given to Adam and Eve to do as soon as Heaven was lost to us and continued right up to the first Good Friday.  The reason for this is it requires innocence to be sacrificed for the guilty.  But what could possibly be innocent enough, infinite enough, precious enough, good enough to be offered to God, who created everything that there is, to erase all the sins of the world?  Himself!  That is Love defined.  It would be more plausible for me to go down to the animal control center to offer my life in trade for the life of one mangy stray dog.  That God would sacrifice Himself for mere creations of His own doing defies logic.  This act requires thanksgiving.  There can be no other rational response.

At the Last Supper, Jesus instructed the Apostles on this mystery.   Though they did not understand at the moment what He was telling them, the wisdom infused into them at the Miracle of Pentecost sealed their understanding of it.  This completed the mystery wherein He told the multitudes that one had to “eat His flesh” to have life, a teaching which scandalized many at the time and continues to scandalize millions today.  In order to eat His flesh, He must be there.  The Eucharist is Him as completely as if we were born two thousand years ago and were standing below the cross while He slowly died.  God is the master of even time.  Try to understand this point.  God created time, He made it and He exists outside of it.  For eternity into the past, the other way, He Is.  He Is, He knew Himself, He was complete and needed nothing, wanted nothing and besides Himself there was nothing and that was good and sufficient.  Then He created for no other reason than He was good and good creates.  Every atom, every part of an atom, every part of each part of every atom that exist anywhere that there is, He specifically made.  He is Jesus.  Read the first three paragraphs of John. “In the beginning was the Word…”  So, the finest mystery of the Mass is this, when we attend Mass, we are literally and truly standing at the foot of the one and true cross in thanksgiving and offering and there is not two thousand years separating us from Him.  We are given the same grace as Mary and John as they stood there, indeed, we stand there beside them.  I am having a hard time typing this through tears.  My God! My God!  We must be there!  Where else would we want to be?

This is why it is silly to be Protestant or a member of any other “church”.  The Catholic Church is the one true church where He is truly and physically present.  We go to Mass for four reasons as I listed above; Adoration (it is His throne room), Thanksgiving (self evident), Reparation (to show contrition and sorrow and to offer Him to God), and Petition (ask for needs for He is a good King!).

Imagine if your child suffered a mental event which completely erased his memory of you.  Whenever you crossed paths with him your heart would break knowing that you were nothing to him while you loved him so much, watched over him, provided for him.  Your heart would reach out and say “It’s me! I love you!  Remember the times we had?” and only indifference is returned.  This is our effect on God each time we skip Mass.  He knew us before we were born and He waits for us to love Him.

Finally, obedience is the counter force to the sin of disobedience.  Remember the battle cry of the dammed? “I will not obey!”  Our reply, through obedience, is “Lord, I love you!”  So, our gentle church charges us with the following acts of obedience, which upon perusal are very sublime in that it takes true faith to complete them while being a mild burden to bear:

The Six Commandments of the Church

1. To hear Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation

2. To fast and abstain on the days appointed

3. To confess at least once each year

4. To receive, worthily, the Holy Eucharist during the Easter time

5. To contribute to the support of our Pastors

6. Not to marry persons who are not Catholics, or who are related to us within the third degree of kindred, nor privately without witnesses, nor to solemnize marriage at forbidden times.

May our great and good God bless each one of you.  May Mary pray for you and find a sweet place in your hearts.

Part Six:

What is the point of it all?  God.  God is the origin and point of everything there is.  It is His intent that we love Him, serve Him, and be with Him in Heaven.  All the history of mankind, all the wars, all the traditions of nations, all the drama are merely the tales of each human working their way to God or hell.  It all boils down to the last four things: Death – Judgment – Heaven – Hell.

And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty. [32] And all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats: [33] And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. [34] Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. [35] For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:

[36] Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. [37] Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? [38]And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee? [39] Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? [40] And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.

[41] Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. [43] I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. [44] Then they also shall answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to thee? [45] Then he shall answer them, saying: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.

[46] And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.

Mathew 25

That’s it!  That is the meaning of the world, right there.  The answer to all the questions such as, “Why do children get sick?” or, “Why did that guy shoot those poor children?” or, “Why do mean people get rich?” or, “Why is life so hard and why do I not have enough money?”  All of it is the struggles of mankind over sin and self interests as they search for God.  Some believe and some don’t.  Some believe errors.  All of it is for us to use our time, short as it is, to be with God, to love God, to follow God.  Take the highway.  Join the Catholic Church and live Her teachings as She obeys Christ, the Lord of all. Get to Heaven, the place you were created for!

The Monster Is Getting Really Hungry Now!

I.R.S. Agent

While there are certainly "loopholes" in the tax code, this contention by the federal monster is simply one step short of declaring all monies to be theirs first until proven otherwise.  They are arguing that if you own your home and do not pay rent, then the rent you do not pay is taxable income.

Bastards!

AVE MARIA!

Reposted from Miss Ann Barnhardt's website with appreciation

WCH

ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION & SCIENCE (PART 1)

POSTED BY ANN BARNHARDT - DECEMBER 8, AD 2012 6:28 PM MST

www.barnhardt.biz

This piece was very popular last year, and since there are a lot more eyes here than a year ago, it is worth a repost today, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Here's your Christian catechesis for the weekend. First, who exactly is the Immaculate Conception? Most Catholics today are so incredibly ignorant and poorly catechized in their faith that a sickening number would say that Jesus is who the term Immaculate Conception is referring to. That would be wrong. Mary is the Immaculate Conception.

And here is where all of the non-Catholics begin to feel a distinct tightening in the solar plexus, a rush of blood to the face, a clenching of the jaw and a grinding of the teeth. Why? Because any mention of Mary other than as a human brood mare, and only around Christmastime - engenders RAGE amongst the Protesters. Why? Because, apparently, Mary draws people's attention away from Jesus instead of pointing people TOWARD Him. Because, apparently, Jesus takes absolutely no delight in any of us, most especially His own mother, is insanely jealous of His own creation and thus hates His own mother, and demands that nobody EVER so much as LOOK at her, much less LOVE her, because Jesus is extremely insecure and just can't handle people observing, loving and appreciating beauty in HIS OWN CREATION, even though everything in the universe was made by Him and through Him.

So every time a parent looks at their child in love, Jesus gets all mad. And every time a man looks at his wife in love, Jesus gets all mad. And every time a son looks at his mother in love, Jesus gets all mad. And every time a man looks at the mountains, or a sunset, or up at the stars in loving wonder and appreciation, Jesus gets all mad. And every time a person looks in loving appreciation at a beautiful painting, or building, or reads a beautiful bit of prose or poetry, or gazes upon a particularly elegant bit of mathematics or even computer programming code . . . JESUS GETS ALL MAD.  Do I have that about right, y'all? Snorf.

Anywho, back to the Immaculate Conception. This doctrine and non-negotiable tenet of Christianity teaches that Mary was, by the grace of God, prevented from carrying the stain of Original Sin from the moment of her conception. Mary was saved from sin by her Son, like all of the other faithful, it is just that the timing of her salvation was different from everyone else. This is why Mary calls God "my Savior" in her Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55. Instead of letting Mary fall in the mud puddle of sin like the rest of us, God stuck out His Arm back through time from the Cross and kept her from falling in the mud puddle – but if it wasn't for God's positive action of reaching out across time from the Cross and holding her from falling, she would have fallen. This is called "grace", and is what the Angel Gabriel was referring to when he greeted Mary at the Annunciation with the words, "Hail! Full of grace! The LORD is with thee. Blessed art thou among women." Luke 1:28
Full of grace means FULL. OF. GRACE.

How full is full? Full is totally full. To the brim. Full does not mean half-full or mostly-full. Full means full. Mary was FULL OF GRACE. And because Mary was FULL of grace, there was absolutely no room for sin. Mary didn't sin because God her Savior had filled her with grace and therefore she just COULDN'T sin. Most of us reading this have a tiny taste of what this is like. For example, I^m guessing that everyone reading this, if handed a baby would be incapable of killing that baby. We just COULDN'T do it. No matter what threat was made against us, no matter what the adverse consequences to our own lives might be, we would take any adverse consequence before killing that baby. We are simply incapable of performing that act. Why? What is that internal force of energy that prevents us from committing acts of evil even when under intense duress and threat? It is grace. Pure and simple.

2012 editorial update: Apparently this example is somewhat iffy today, as almost every one of you would happily kill a baby with your tax dollars, as long as your tax dollars pay someone else to actually do the limb-ripping and decapitation of said baby behind closed doors. But I digress.

Sadly, most of us have a little grace, but are not in any way FULL of grace. I am personally much closer to being full of crap than of grace (which many of you have already pointed out to me, thank you very much), hence the daily, persistent, repeated sinning on my part. And I suspect it is a similar situation with you, dear reader, with the grace-to-crap ratio being much higher for you than for me. I really am quite full of crap.

With Mary there was no crap because God her Savior had FILLED her with grace, and thus there was no room for crap, and thus there was no sin. It's really just 2nd grade math if you think about it. But WHY? Why was it essential for Mary to be sinless and sinless from the moment of her conception?

That's where the science comes in.

ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION & SCIENCE (PART 2)

POSTED BY ANN BARNHARDT - DECEMBER 8, AD 2012 6:18 PM MST

There are two phases to Mary's existence. The first phase was from the moment of her conception until the Annunciation, which is when Jesus was conceived in her womb. The second phase was from that moment of conception forward for all eternity. Each phase has its own physiological delight attached to it which required Mary to be a sinless vessel for Our Lord.First, the pre-Annunciation period. As it turns out, all baby girls have all of the eggs that are ever going to be in their ovaries fully formed not just at birth, but fairly early in their fetal development phase. Unlike men who are continuously producing new sperm, a woman's eggs aren't created and formed with each menstrual cycle. All that is happening during a cycle is that an egg, which has been fully formed in a woman's body since she was a pre-born fetus, is released into the reproductive tract. What this means theologically is that the egg containing the 23 chromosomes that God would miraculously fertilize with 23 chromosomes that He miraculously supplied (including a Y chromosome) to become the Word Made Flesh, Jesus Christ, was physically present inside Mary's body from the time that Mary was inside of her mother's womb.

That egg, and those chromosomes, that physical constituent of Our Blessed Lord was present inside of Mary's body, waiting to be . . . if I may use the word . . . consecrated. The word consecrate, when broken into its Latin components means:

Con: With

Secr: Holy

Ate: Territory of a Ruler

And so, Mary was, from the time she was inside St. Ann's womb, already carrying a portion of Our Lord's physicality, namely 23 of His chromosomes. And thus Mary was, from her very beginning, already a tabernacle, already the Ark of the New Covenant, carrying within her what would be consecrated into The Law Incarnate, The High Priest, and The Bread of Life, directly analogous to the Old Ark, except perfected and fully fulfilled as God Incarnate. And as we know from the book of Exodus, the Old Ark had to be "pure within and without" (Exodus 25:11). And thus, the Ark of the New Covenant was truly pure within and without, except this purity was a purity that only God Himself could accomplish: the purity of Mary, full of grace and thus saved from all sin.

The second phase is actually broken into two sub-phases. The first sub-phase is when Mary was pregnant with Jesus and His entire body was inside of hers. The second phase is that phase from the time of Jesus' birth forward into all eternity.

Jesus is STILL physically inside of Mary in a unique way. It was discovered just a few short years ago that immune cells pass from a pre-born child to the mother across the placenta. Not only do these immune cells, which are the child's and thus carry the exclusive DNA of the child, pass across the placenta, but they persist in the mother's body for the rest of her life. A woman who has carried a son has immune cells with Y-chromosomes in her bloodstream that can now be filtered out of her blood and observed. Female children also pass cells to their mothers. Thus, a woman truly does carry her children around inside of her, with their DNA coursing through her heart, for the rest of her life. That isn't just a sentiment, it is a physiological fact.

Thus, Mary continued and continues to this day to be a perpetual, living tabernacle of her Son, as she carries cells with His DNA in her bloodstream. And so now we see why Mary had to be filled with grace and thus saved from the stain of sin from the moment of her conception eternally forward, because she was and is a perpetual Ark of the New Covenant.

This also explains why Mary's body was assumed into heaven, body and soul, immediately at the end of her earthly life, because her body literally contained living cells of Our Lord and thus her body could not remain on earth in physical death to decay in any way. She simply was afforded the same physical resurrection that all of the faithful will receive, albeit instantaneously for her, given her very special state, both spiritually and physically. This is what is doctrinally referred to as "The Assumption". The Feast of the Assumption is August 15th.

Finally, if you are reading this and it has made you the least bit angry, you need to sit down and ask yourself one excruciatingly simple question: WHY?

Our Beautiful Lady

The Wizard of Id and Political Science