Confessions of a Thirty Something Cybertronian

Process of Transformation,..'LET's Get it ON!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:50:00 +0000

This is it! Today is the day that I will meet with the vocations director for the english side of the diocese in Montreal. The running away is over, the decision has been taken...Its now or never! This is one of those blog entries whereby I will need to solicit prayers. For the last year, I followed the advice of my parish priest (Btw,..an awesome holy priest! Word up Father Martineau!!!) and began studying as an external student. During this time,.I began looking into the Spirituality of St John Chysostom and began cleaning up the mess that was my interior life, less Charlie Sheen, more Francis of Assisi...(For this I give props to Father Steven Grunow, the number two man at 'Word on Fire' ministries.) Next up, through the advice of one of my best friends I began to pray the breviary,..Those psalms can act like spiritual supplements,.lke a faith based protein shake! (That piece of advice came from Father Greg Cizcek) Then came the ultimate gift the Holy Spirit gave me,..an awesome Spiritual director (Shout out to Fr Guy Guindon PSS,..) who comes from my world,.the gym! He has experience in Shotokan Karate, and also is good friends with George St Pierre. (St Pierre and I train at the same Jiu Jitsu School under the same coach Bruno Fernandes,..Gracie Barra.) So how much more evidence do I need?

Well,..there is of course my secular friends who still don't quite understand this path but support me nonetheless! My family, who thought I was called to priesthood as a kid,.(I probably was! I just ran in the other direction as fast as I could! 'Probably', because ultimately the seminary is the house of discernment) My facebook friends, awesome people who I met online, and have actually developed friendships with, real ones! (Generation Benedict!! This past summer I met Nick, Jason and Christina in Florida). The women in my life,.my ex girlfriend, who saw me transform, twist and turn, becoming more 'rigid' and disturbed at all liturgical nonsense and at life in general, yet stayed with me, through all of it before I finally fell into a depression. The bloggers out there, whom I eagerly await their posts,..we shared, vented and laughed at our silliness,..(Especially Button, Footer, Teresa and Heresy Hunter..)

To any guy out there being called,..you know the deal. You'll run, He'll let you experience all there is to experience. You'll never be fulfilled whatever job you do,.you'll try relationships, new hobbies,..etc. Ultimately God knows where you will be completely happy. It sucks,.it really does, especially when all you do is wonder why everyone around you is happy and you are not.

My path back to the Church,.started with the priest in the Diocesan bookroom, and now I meet with the friggin' vocations director! God has an awesome sense of humour,..He ordained a new priest last week, Fr Jason Piper, whose last quote to me was 'Like Nike,..Just do it!' I prefer 'Big' John McCarthy, 'Let's get it on!!!!!' My favorite though is St Faustina,...Jesus I trust in You!

St Jean Viannay,...........ora pro nobis!

Sometimes to Go Forward, We Need to Step Back.

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:06:00 +0000

***This letter written nearly three years ago.***

An Open Letter to Catholic Dissidents...

Confessions of a Thirty Something Cybertronian

First off, I wish you greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. True to Pauline form, I will try to get to my points as quickly as possible. My name is Marco Mastro however I write under a pen name or nickname of Optimusmastro. My style especially with regards to apologetics, comes off sometimes as being rather aggressive and not quite pastoral. I will give you a backround as to where I come from...

I grew up the only child of two parents. They raised me in the Faith, the best way they knew how and still to this day provide me with prayerful support and wise counsel. I went to Catholic elementary school and high school before going to junior college (cegep in Quebec) and subsuquently university. I graduated with a degree in political science and a minor in religious studies. Since university, I have worked in the field of marketing while moonlighting at a gym. It was during my time as a student where my Faith started to mature and according to some 'radicallize.'

If I must, I will chalk my spiritual growth up to the idea of Divine providence. You see, being in political science allowed me to open the door towards an interest in philosophy. My minor however especially during my first semester, polluted my faith and enabled me to lose whatever belief system I had left. This goes to show, that as a teenager, my interest in the Church was to serve as a showpiece to my parents. While I still considered myself 'catholic,' it could be said that I espoused many of the current liberal trends that you as dissidents currently hold as dogma. (ordination of women, gay marriage, eco-spirirtuality..etc). In retrospect, I guess that's why today, I find myself so vehementely opposed to it. Within the religious studies course, my exposure to Catholicism came from such sources as Fr. Richard McBrien, Fr. Hans Kung, various commentaries on the 'Spirit' of the second Vatican council, (Yet we NEVER read the actual Council!) and of course anyone who would advance what the progressives would call 'contemporary' Catholicism. Needless to say, I thought I was going to be the next member of the Jesus Seminar! Forget the opinions of John Paul II,...I had Marcus Borg to decree my version of infallibility!

During this time I would frequent a bookstore in downtown Montreal that sold theological studies. While buying 'On being Christian' by Hans Kung,..I noticed a young priest. I thought to myself, this guy is too young to be a priest and I think I'm gonna engage him in dialogue. Y'know, I felt the need to enlighten this poor guy that it was Paul who founded Christianity and the historical Jesus was a much different person than the 'Christ of Faith.' Yeah,..to say it didn't go as planned would be an understatement. Keep in mind, that through high school, I participated in wrestling, martial arts and hockey. In other words, I was no stranger to confrontation, yet this priest listened to me as I cut my 'promo' and then delivered the most vicious intellectual asskicking I had ever been exposed to. (I was actually drained after he apologetically beat the theological crap out of me!) This priest and I exchanged numbers and are friends to this day. I had never heard of Scott Hahn, Karl Keating, Claude Tremontent, or Father John Corapi(my favorite!!!) In addition to this, I started delving into philosophy especially since I had through my political science degree already been exposed to Descarte, and Immanual Kant. The sad thing was, I had never been exposed to Thomas Aquinas...I thought it was just the name of a school that my cousins in the States went to. It was recommended that I start with Aristotle,..and the rest is history. It took me one year to read the Summa Theologica, and since then, I have read many works by people such as Jacques Maritain and Peter Kreeft.

My return to orthodoxy has caused many even in my own parish to label me 'conservative,' 'rigid'(that one's my favorite!) and medieval. My response is that I'm just Catholic. Since Catholicism is objective, it is neither liberal or conservative, left or right, it just 'is.' Consequently I feel the need to show what I've found and try as best I can to give intellectual assent to the dogmas of the Church.

My letter to you today is to ask what exactly is your mission in the Church? Are you trying to undermine Her authority? What is the point of preaching a pluralistic tolerance of all faiths (which is a good thing,..but not at the expense of Truth!) while campagning against the Motu Propio concerning the Extraordinary Form of Mass? Have you actually read the Second Vatican Council's sixteen documents? Why do you always preach ecumenism when authentic Truth is not your focal point for discussion? Why do you claim to advocate Social Justice, yet at the same time practise a deafening silence when it comes to the defense of the unborn? Would not Social Justice begin with the most innocent of lives? Why do you insist on dialogue and discourse when the Magisterium issues a ruling forbidding something? If you are a priest, and you don't believe in the Real Presence, why did you get ordained? You willingly gave up a family for what exactly? Finally, why do you remain in the Church?

Look, these are but a few questions, but in the spirit of discourse, I would like you to consider them, if you would like to contact me, you can do at my blog,..Confessions of a Thirty Something Cybertronian

God Bless,

Marco/Optimusmastro

Addendum: This was an article written nearly three years ago. As of this writing, my Parish has a solid priest, my 'favorite' Fr Corapi is apparently seeking refuge in the Bermuda Triangle under his Blacksheepdog persona,.(pray for him) and that young priest is now a Bishop. God works in mysterious ways,..By the way, I'll be meeting with the vocations director of Archdiocese of Montreal,..Time to write my letter to the Archbishop. I'll always be a cybertronian, but will now prepare to commence as a seminarian God willing...

Sacred Heart of Jesus,........Have mercy on us.

Catholic or Country

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:36:00 +0000

As a kid,.I always admired the US. Every time I would get a GI JOE action figure vehicule, I would throw away the Canadian stickers and want to put American ones on it. It wasn't that I was against Canada, but I was a realist. Our military fleet may as well be a couple of canoes and some propeller planes especially compared to the US. That's again not say that our military is weak,.on a scale compared to the US, it is somewhat infinetly smaller. We simply do not have the population or budget to compare. Similarly, my dad would bring me to the old Montreal Forum to watch WWF, and the whole place would be chanting USA! USA! to cheer on Hulk Hogan. As Canadians we are usually only patriotic when it comes to hockey!!!

Some sad news. A year and a half ago, I wrote a post critiquing Obama's policies. The email that came in accused me of rascism, being intolerant,..the whole gamut...Well President Obama and his merry band of dissidents in the name of healthcare have now forced the Church's back against the wall. President Obama's healthcare plan will now force Catholic doctors and taxpayers to check their consciences in their back pocket. Yup so much for freedom of religion. This week I will be writing a more in depth blog post on the ramifications of this now famous phone call to the president of the USCCB, Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan. American Catholics will now have to choose between the most pro-abortion president the States has ever seen and be called rascist by liberal elist media types like Michael Moore or return to the Republican party, which hopefully won't implement this vile agenda. The USA once stood for freedom....Please refrain from emailing me nasty comments,..More on this story,..in the meantime as this news broke, and we all knew it would,..our Holy Father's warning to the US Bishops. See here and see here.

Sacred Heart of Jesus,........Have mercy on us!

Ontological Change and the JPII Generation,.....

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:25:00 +0000

So,.yes, I couldn't come up with an adequate title for today's blog post,..but if you say the title aloud, using a Macho Man Randy Savage voice, and ending it with an 'Ohhh Yeeeaaah!,' it kinda sounds cool! Today I announce to you a great joy,.a friend who I met through a priest friend of mine will become a priest! That's right, tonight is the ordination to the priesthood of Jason Piper. God is good!

Over the last three years that I have been blogging, a constant has always been present, that a new generation of priests is on the horizon. The Blessed Mother has assembled an army, a blue army if you will, to share in Her Divine Son's priesthood and victimhood. One word describes these men, orthodox! In the wake of the Second Vatican Council, their has been an unrelenting attack on the holy priesthood. The sex scandals, the corruption, and heterodox Bishops flourishing heresy everywhere. The enemy subverted, and tried his best to take apart the Bride of Christ, think about it,.no valid priest? Then no valid Eucharist. Yet through these turbulant waters, Our Lord never went against His promise in St Matthew's Gospel. 'The gates of hell will not prevail against Her!' The last fifty years saw diocese after diocese, dismantle their infrastructure, spiritually and physically. Men called to priesthood were rejected as having an 'outdated' vision of the Church and men with psychological problems, homosexual orientations and heterodox views were allowed to be ordained. Once again, think about when you encounter an unfaithful priest,..ask yourself why he wanted to freely give up a wife and kids, but yet did not believe in the Church's dogmas? It doesn't make any sense! Hope, though was on the way.

The Holy Spirit, flashed the batsignal out to Poland, and in 1978, a true warrior was installed as the Pope, and this goofy generation's days were numbered! Pope John Paul II burst onto the scene, reiterated traditional Catholic beliefs, re-asserted the Faith and sent fruit loop theologians packing! (So long, Fr Hans!!!) The thing is, what made these pot head hippies nervous, was that through his charisma, his manhood and his example, he inspired a whole generation! World Youth Days, a resurgence of Thomism and a vibrant attitude saw vocations spring up all over the world, especially Africa. In the west, a different story, the hippie residue, saw to it that vocations were near extinction so they (cuckoo bishops..) could ordain woman, and the rest of their 'caca' ideas...Who can forget the scene in South American of John Paul II berating a certain liberation 'theologian' Ernesto Cardenal... Marxism and Catholicism don't mix,..its great to feed the hungry, but invite them to their true calling in the Kingdom of Heaven! Not a social revolution hijacking authentic social justice! So, seminarians began to 'play the game.' Flying under the radar and maintaining a complete trust in Divine providence, these men told their formators all the syrupy crap they wanted to hear, then after ordination, they put on a cassock! Soon, solid Bishops were installed, and yes, even in the west, the gurgling death rattle of the 'Sprit of VII' crowd could be heard. Hippie priests were on the way out and being replaced by younger orthodox men who understood their calling and were ready to implement the REAL Vatican II, not the crap they had been spoon fed by their formators!

So here we stand at the threshold of hope. The tale of the tape reads as follows, you are looking at future priest who stands about 6'4 and has arms like tree trunks. A guy whose 'been there, done that' and is freely laying down his life for Christ. Truthfully, our Lord knows the battle within His Holy Church, with secularism breathing down Her neck and Islam positioning itself for another crack at world domination,..(Yes I went there, all you priests and religious, get heads out of the sand and wake the f@#$ up! ) No more gangly little fruitcake who can't catch a football, let alone throw one! True manhood, a warrior whose is about to be ordained! Please offer prayers for all of us in the diocese of Montreal and by extension all priests, worldwide, especially those discerning the call,.. Devotion to the Eucharist, devotion to the Blessed Mother, and here we have it,.As of tomorrow, Father Jason Piper!

St Jean Vianney,................ora pro nobis!

Unity.

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:31:00 +0000

That they may all be one. So true in today's context does Jesus's prayer ring aloud. Today in Canada begins the week for Christian Unity. We as Christians, Catholic, and non-catholic (all 745 997 differents brands, sects, denominations and groups..no disrespect just sayin') are encouraged to pray for Christ's will that we may unite. Obviously the root causes of division is sin, plain and simple. There were people in the Church that needed to be called out for their crap and they were, initially Martin Luther did a good thing. Sadly then his ego took over. My friends, every year this week comes around I get the uncomfortable feeling that we as Catholics, at least the establishment(local not the Vatican), are willing to sell their mother (Sometimes the Blessed Mother!!!) to a pet store in order to have 'friendly' relations with the Unitarian Pentecostabaptists down the street!

My friends, when Jesus prays that we may all be one, He does not mean that we compromise Truth in doing so. As Catholics we have the fullness of Faith, plain and simple. This is simply not our 'opinion' as some cute little clergy with no balls and afraid of their own shadow like to put forth, this is FACT! Period! Exclamation mark! Any protestant, can trace their lineage back and see that whatever truth(s) they possess are first and formost Catholic. Unless you get to certain types of 'baptists' who believe in a 'trail of blood.' Apparently 'true' Christians went underground, (so far underground they reached Krang and Shredder's Technodrome...) and only emerged after Luther posted his 95theses...Sorry my baptists friends, but this story is so freakin' ridiculous that it can make a mormon blush with his whole 'God lives on a planet near Kolob..' Stan Lee should obtain the rights, Marvel Comics could make a fortune! I would read it!

All kidding aside, our late Holy Father, John Paul II took incredible pains to apologize, issue an encyclical 'Ut Unun Sanct' and reach out to every Christian. He received baptists, reformed baptists, pentecostals, reformed pentecostals, reformed presbytarians, regular presbytarians, who knows, presbytarian 'al dente' (you catch my drift?) On it went. There was a joint declaration with the Lutherans, agreeing that we are 'saved' by Grace! My question to you Lutherans,..why do you still exist? John Paul II lived his title 'Pontifex' bridge builder. Any unity must come from Truth, and Love,.they can't be seperated. So while we do pray for re unification,..we cannot do it at the expense of dogma. To my protestant friends, pray, study and check your ego in your back pocket. To my Catholic friends, we(all of us) need to start living our Faith better,.and for that, we can use some evangelicals as a great example.

St Jose Maria Escriva,.....ora pro nobis.

Michael Voris and Modern Martyrs...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:40:00 +0000

It seems everyone today tries to appease everyone else. Ideologies are easily set aside in order to accomodate everybody's belief, right to believe it, right to practice it and right to uphold it. Every belief that is, except one, (drum roll,.....) CHRISTIANITY!!!! In particular the Catholic Church. At almost every turn, there seems to be an attack, only these 'attacks' are not from an external source. (Yes, Satan if you really look to the absolute real source...) These attacks come from entities operating under the guise of so-called progressive 'catholicism' such as 'Call to Action,' 'Development and Peace,' and 'Voice of the Faithful.' They also come from ideological movements such as Liberation Theology. Think critically my friends, and look at the latest stuff happening. Fr Frank Pavone, accused of financial irreguliarities while directing 'Priests For Life.' His Bishop, Patrick Zurek has assigned him a convent where he continues his ministry. He has appealed to the Vatican which is his right to do so. He has always been a priest in good standing. Next up, we have the whole Fr Corapi/Blacksheepdog mess. Yes, since the new year, the website has disappeared, nevertheless, Fr Corapi's talks worldwide have brought Catholics back to their faith with enthusiasm and downright gusto! Satan definetly saw him as a target.

The most recent one, deserves its own paragraph. Michael Voris, the voice of RealCatholicTv has been ordered by the archdiocese of Detroit to conform with canon law and not use the word 'Catholic' in his ministry. My question is,..What the hell else is he supposed to call it? The accusers, (remnant/disgruntled hippies and feminazis from the Bishop Gumbleton days,..) are using Canon law to justify their claims. This issue has yet to be resolved. Why are people so afraid of Voris? Is it his forthright style? His 'tell it like it is attitude?' Or maybe his magic hair? Personally Michael Voris is the breath of fresh air that I and countless other Catholic men need! I highly doubt Bishop Vigneron is the one behind this, but I would suspect that his staffers upset at the New Liturgy Translation, are lashing out and trying to pin down Voris for his 'dangerous' (code word for truthfull) commentary.

The groups I mentioned will get there own spotlight,.and perhaps liberation 'theology' will get a few posts treated to it. As Catholic men, we are responsible for our children and those under our care,..Let's start by asking the heavy questions?? You ready? I'll start. 'Why are we so concerned about Michael Voris' ministry and threatening him with the full weight of canon law,.yet,..Fr Richard McBrien is still allowed to teach 'theology' at Notre Dame?' (crickets chirping,..). Oh,.you think I forgot? Development and Peace has been bs'ing their way into the faithful Canadians' pocketbooks and brainwashing people with 'Cardinal Bernadin inspired seamless garment crap.' Here is great link,..Lifesite News . Ooops, forgot! Liberals can't link to this one, considered too dangerous might harm their self esteem, so I'll give you another beauty,. Heresy Hunter! This fellow Canadian has been exposing Development and Peace's big pile of steaming hot garbage for a while now! (I put the link to the blog,..liberals seriously, read it the whole blog, you'll laugh and might learn something!)

Pope St Pius X,...........ora pro nobis.

Optimusmastro Weighs in on New Cardinals as well as Nash/Warrior Twitter...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:24:00 +0000

Grumpy Old Men Give Me an Idea!

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:40:00 +0000

The latest twitter news has Kevin Nash calling out The Ultimate Warrior to an MMA style shoot match. Wow,..your thinking it must be a slow news day! Actually I will tie it in to the Church a little bit later,..So the backround,..a tweet to Warrior asking why he doesn't dye his hair and come back to WWE,..Warrior responds, that 'He's not a dic*head looking to steal the limelight from younger wrestlers.' Diesel fires back on Warrior's twitter challenging him to an MMA match! Here's the kicker, not the fact that these two are wayyyy past their primes, but that none of them have any backround in MMA fighting! (Nash's would tear his quad getting into the Octogon!) Warrior? Well, I admire his views, intensity and lifestyle, but C'mon! First off, wrestling wise, he wouldn't know a wrist lock from a wrist watch! They'd probably mutally guillotine each other and pass out! Seriously, Nash, though a street fighter, I think would lose to Warrior,..Warrior has a lower centre of gravity, and thus I could see Warrior on his back allowing Nash to tackle him. From the guard position, Warrior key locks or Kimora Big Daddy Cool, and big Diesel, will be parked on the side of the road out of gas! Again, this scenerio only occurs if both know what the hell there doing! They'll no comebacks or shaking the ropes to regain strength after you've taken a legitamite ass-kicking. Though its receiving a lot of publicity, I think the only cool thing about it would be the build up,.and maybe the 'entrances!' ;)

Now, as this issue was taking place, it got me thinking,..hmmm (lightbulbs flashing,..) what if someone in the orthodox Catholic world were to call out a heterodox? I could just see it now,..Cardinal Mahoney calls Cardinal Burke,..'Closed minded' on Twitter,..Cardinal Burke responds calling him out! Not to an MMA fight,..but to an actual 'dialogue!' (their words..) Y'know one that would actually culminate in a settled issue! Better still what if Michael Voris called out Richard McBrien! I definetly would love to see that debate! My friends, as much as can have fun with these issues,..we need to take them seriously! We are at the crossroads and not only is our Church at stake,..but so are souls.

St Michael the Archangel,...................ora pro nobis.

Scorpions and Cardinals

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:36:00 +0000

Twenty-two new Cardinals!!!! Congratulations to the 22 newly appointed Cardinals who will be elevated to fill the ranks of the college in order to elect the next Pope! Among the notables, are Archbishop Collins of Toronto (solid) and Archbishop Dolan of New York (solid). Can we see a trend here folks? Solid. Vatican II is on deck and the Holy Spirit is ready to implement the Council. The last fifty or so years, the poltergeist known as the 'spirit of VII' has been exorcized and the Holy Father Benedict 16th has been the lead Ghostbuster! (cue song!) So far, John Paul II is now a 'Blessed,' in 2007 we received the Motu Propio freeing the Tridentine Mass, and this past Advent, we received the New Translation of the Roman Missal. God is good. I feel like singing,..(my best Klaus Meine voice echoeing the Scorpions second biggest hit after 'Rock you like a Hurricane,')

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change

The wind of change
Blows straight into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say.......

Don't worry Modernists,..cheer up you still have Cardinal Mahoney!! I mean, he's not 80 yet,...;)

John Hagee 'Blessed Virgin Mother of God.'

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:54:00 +0000

From the files of 'Let the Holy Spirit penetrate people's hearts' comes this story straight out of San Antonio Texas. Let me just say that it is extremely rare that I post three days in a row,..but sometimes stuff happens that needs commentary, but more importantly needs prayers! This is unbelievably joyful news. As Catholics, we are incredibly blessed to know that Our Lady will put her mantle over us when fly to her protection. Obviously this Grace stems from Jesus who is the source of all,..but Mary will always never be refused anything from her Son. See the Wedding Feast of Cana. (John 2:1) Besides we already know that she is the Immaculate Conception (Luke 1:28). Yup!,..ITs riiiiiiight there in de Biiiiiibullll!

Back to Pastor Hagee who ministers a Church called Cornerstone Church,.in the past Hagee has been accused of Anti-Catholic bias. Sometimes referring indirectly to the Church as the whore of Babylon, critizing the Church's handlings of the Jews during World War II and lambasting the Church for Her role in the Crusades. The first point is debatable, but so what if he did?,..He subscribes to a different theology and is genuinely concerned about our souls as Catholics! Not like some modernist 'Catholics' or 'mainstream' prots who believe everyone goes to Heaven,..uhhh,.not what Jesus said! I say good for him if he has balls! On the second point regarding the Church's (Pope Pius XII) handling of the Shoa,..Yes he's wrong, but I think first and foremost we need to critique the revisionist historians who have an authentic hatred for God and his Holy Church putting forth propaganda. The third point again, falls into leftist fiction,..as plainly said, if it weren't for the Crusades, we'd all be muslim today.

During the 2007 US election campaign he stirred controversy by endorsing McCain. Bill Donahue, who does a lot of good work came out denouncing McCain as aligning himself with an anti-Catholic preacher. (Again debatable..) What followed was Hagee personally writing an apology to Bill Donahue,.which was sincere and classy. Then 'other' stuff started happening, such as the Holy Father's visit to the US,...So let's start with some of Pastor Hagee's letter to Donahue. See here. I don't feel the need to paraphrase as the letter clearly indicates a spirit of good will. If you noticed he also gets his facts straight with regards to Pope Pius XII and his personally interveneing on behalf on the Jews! Next we have this beautifully written piece which appears in the Washinston Times entitled Thank-you Pope Benedict,..see here. Okay so we've come this far,..Yes, the loud dude on TBN,.otherwise known as the smorgasboard of protestant opinion network,..(please don't count Fr Michael Manning as Catholic..) is extremely open to Catholcism,..and sees us as true believers in Christ. I have said before on this blog, that while I may disagree on many issues regarding evangelical Christianity,..there is no doubt in my mind that we as Catholics could take a lesson in living the Faith from our seperated brethren. Pro-Life,.pro-traditional marriage, they don't cower or wimper in the face of adversity. They are active in the public square, and man,..are they on fire! I've also mentioned that I do believe, and we are seeing it among their pastors,..that they(evangelicals..) are about twenty-or so years away from discovering Mary in the Bible.

Now we can come back to the title of this post. A recent John Hagee sermon, called Mary, 'The Blessed Virgin Mother of God.' WOW!!! Need I say more? He affirmed Theotokos! Now look at his evidence, his two letters, his wife's Catholic upbringing, his affinity for the Old Testament (which by the way, my protestant friends prefigures Mary at every turn, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:20, Samuel 2: 1-10, ,..names such as Eve, Mother of all living, daughter of Zion, morning star,..) and his ministry supported a convent!!!! Methinks we'll see Pastor John on a future episode of EWTN's Journey Home!...hmmm..

My protestant friends, I've said this before,..you lose NOTHING of your faith and zeal for Christ coming into the Church, instead you gain the Eucharist! That puzzle that you were trying to find that piece for is all there,.the intellectual tradition, the history, Apostolic Succession, and yes the fullness of Truth! Jesus established one Church and despite all Her blemishes is still the beacon of light for humanity. Think about it, if the Catholic Faith was not divinely protected, it would have rotted away centuries ago,..All those corrupt Popes you speak of (3 of them!!!) could have easily changed a dogma or doctrine to suit their interests,..(Muhammed in the Qur'an anyone?...) but they didn't! The hijacking of Vatican II by the modernist crowd could have easily conquered Her,..but She's back up again! The sex scandals, the corruption,..and guess what ? We still produced Mother Teresa, Brother Andre, and Padre Pio,.. St Peter denied our Lord three times and was still put in charge! Guess what we also produced? Your Bible!!!!!!!!! Yes, there are thousands who leave the Catholic Church because either they weren't being fed, or worse, it had become part of their culture so the relationship with Jesus wasn't there, but again on the other side, there are much more protestant pastors converting! Why, because they understake an exercise in futility trying to find the historical Church (Alex Jones conversion) or they try to intellectually take Her apart,.( Scott Hahn conversion) .

To conclude,..Pastor Hagee, its gonna be tough,.yes you will lose your congregation, maybe your fame..Who knows, maybe you will be called to serve as a permanent deacon, or even still a priest! ( There are exceptions in canon law in the Roman rite regarding converts) Pray, fast, discern what the Holy Spirit is telling you! 'One flock, one Shepherd?' We need you,..The Church needs you,.. On a side note, Shawn Michaels, HBK is a member of your community, a lapsed Catholic who found Christ,..bring him home to the Eucharist! (see here )

Holy Mary Mother of God,............ora pro nobis.

BlackSheepDog Euthanized?

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:27:00 +0000

A quick post today just to update the blogosphere on the status of Fr John Corapi. We all know the story, so its no use repeating it,..just to say that yesterday, I received several emails asking about his status. Upon visiting his site, I found it taken down, along with his youtube and twitter accounts. Please offer prayers for Father Corapi, let us hope he has returned to his Order and complied with their directives. No one knows the entire story, nevertheless, Fr Corapi was a religious and thus promised obediance to his superiours. Right or wrong, obey your vows, and let God figure out the rest! Remember that Padre Pio was confined to his cell for almost two years, and in humility he obeyed. Today he is St Pio of Pietrelcina.

For more info contact here,..http://www.theblacksheepdog.us/

Padre Pio,........ora pro nobis.

Ultimate Warrior Reality 2,...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Wow! I can't believe I'm blogging about this guy again, but it is just too awesome! The Ultimate Warrior will be launching his own reality TV series shortly, whether it will be web based or not remains to be seen. The Warrior for me as a kid was larger than life, but for me right now as as adult, is a beacon of inspiration, telling it like it is and not taking any BS from anyone! ( Warrior Teaser Trailer ) Yes, there is some language but so what? We live in a society where blasphemy is considered okay but the so-called 'F' bomb is wrong!! C'mon folks its the reverse! Warrior takes these up and coming bands with their cute little 125lb rock star image of drinking and partying and makes men out of them! Trains them physically, and motivates them intellectually into understanding why we take better care of our cars than our bodies when once again it should be the other way around!

Now imagine we had the same program for priests and religious. Too often we see the overweight, effeminate priest with his sanctuary decorated full of velvet banners and bunny rabbits! Where have all the f'n men gone? The last sixty years saw the Catholic Church who produced giants like St Peter (crucified upside down) and St Mark, (martyred by being dragged through the streets) turn into Pee Wee's Playhouse!!!!!! I've said this before,..I truly believe that the Warrior will be in full communion with the Church one day. His desire for Truth on the intellectual level is incredible,..so its a matter of time....Then I hope he cleans house at chancery offices everywhere,..Imagine the little fruitcakes in charge of dialogue and discussion getting pummelled by clothelines,.for their own good!

versus,.....(who would win???) ;)

As a fitness trainer and potential seminarian,..I plan to continue training,.weights, mma,.anything. We need balance in life,.or else we become weak. Vocations whether to priesthood or marriage, demand that the best be brought out of us. Christ will take our talents, and then purify them to serve His Church! Any priest or religious who wants a quick workout template, feel free to email me,..just give me a rough idea of your height and weight,..as well as any injuries you might have. God Bless, and Happy New Year to all!

St Ignatius of Loyola,........ora pro nobis.

Leftopia,..the Magical Land of Stupid...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:51:00 +0000

And now for another installment of speaking with Lefties, the show where truth is orwellian and facts are hidden worse than in a 'Where's Waldo?' book! (Funny anecdote, I always thought 'Where's Waldo?' was only in french,..'Ou est Charlie?'..Oh well...:)) This past week, during our CHRISTMAS time off, (not holiday time, or wintersoltice time, or winter festival time,..got that off my chest!) I was innundated with emails concerning my so-called closed mindedness and lack of pastoral concern (whatever the hell that means,..) for issues of equality and justice! You see about two years ago, I wrote a post on the evils of socialism and how it is incompatible with Catholic thought. It basically denies the theological reality of original sin, and props up man to act as his own saviour. Liberation theology became its bastard offspring, after having an ongoing affair with marxism. (see here ) Now these people penetrate the establishment on all levels, politically, socially and yes even inside the Church. They espouse Cardinal Bernadin's seamless garment crap and instead of looking at truths through a Thomistic lens, and then following suit, they equate everything in the same basket. Example, 'Yes candidate 'A' is pro-life, but he's not taking care of the south american coffee pickers getting minimum wage! So that must cancel it all out!' You see the logic? No? Because there is none!

A few weeks back I was introduced to a Fox news commentator named Steven Crowder. American by birth, he was raised in Canada, actually Montreal and is blowing the whistle on all this stuff! His insights are intelligent, witty and wait for it,...FACTUAL! Yes, the left having an issue with truth has a hard time getting its act together especially if it does not suit their marxist agenda! Some examples,..(Let me set this up, typical university professor enters classroom wearing Palestinian 'kaffiya,' a Jack Layton hugging Barrack Obama pin and begins to lecture on the human rights violations of the US in the Middle East, Israel on everything and 'capitalism' as the 'Mein Kempf' of economic theory! So, the students eat this stuff up! I know, I was one of them!) Some of the myths include;

Pope Pius XII was a silent nazi sympathizer who did nothing during WWII. FACT: Pope Pius XII did more than any other person to save Jews from extermination. (see here) The theory that he was anti-semitic arose from a protestant playwright 5 years later after his death!!!!!! The chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli converted to Christianity because he was moved by Pius's defense of the Jewish people!!! Lefties, on this one you lose, you only expose yourselves not only as ignorant, but as a malicious parasitical cancer that grafts itself onto society! (Yes, this one I take personally, because I've had to endure many a 'spirit' of VII priest propogating that lie!)

Israel is an evil country which must give back land to the Palestinians in the occupied territories. FACT; Can anybody name one country that wasn't formed through violence? Number two, can anybody name one country whereby when it was formed, another country was formed specifically for the people living there at that time! (Jordan was formed in 1948, for the people eventually known as the Palestinians. Why eventually? Because prior to 1948, there was no such f'n thing as a 'Palestinian!' ) It sucks that both people can't live in harmony, it really does, but when the 'Palestinians' refuse negotiations with Israel, thereby claiming it as Islamic land, and will only settle for a ten year truce, (Remember 'prophet' Muhammed, that peaceloving kind of guy, broke his ten year truce in two years instead!) and will never recognize Israel's right to exist! It really is sad for the Arabs living there, but how about fighting this war through education, reign in your terror groups, or maybe do a little introspection on the metaphysics of Islam? Just sayin,..The 'Left' love to tell you about how Israel attacked Syria and Egypt in the six day war, but forget to mention that those two countries already amassed their troops right on the bourder! Wait a minute, after the asskicking Israel gave them, they still gave back land!!!! Does anyone not see the irony?

Just two examples of pothead stupidity that we are forced fed through CBC, BBC and of course Hollywood, because we know how politically savvy they are, Sean Penn? C'mon,..not exactly Ben Stein! Critiquing anything the Obama administration is failing at brands you as rascist! Back to Crowder,...I'll be putting a link up to his site, and I truly suggest you check out his youtube videos, he even has a 'Quebec Corner!' I won't even mention that the producers of Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' basically admitted Stewart's bias in an email concerning Crowder...Ooops,..just did! Hehehehe...(Look it up!)

Blessed John Paul the Great,.........Ora pro nobis!

L'Eglise Quebecois,..

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Living in 'La Belle Province' certainly has its fair share of unique characteristics. To the outsider, things like the 'language police' (OLF) and Law 101 conjure up images of George Orwell's 1984. Now of course it isn't really that bad,..but there are times when you just want to,..well,..either scratch your head quizically or just up and move to Ontario!

Growing up,.I was fluently bi-lingual, (tri-lingual if you count Italian as well, but my italian leaves much to be desired,.) and my parents lived in LaSalle which was/is a working class italian influenced section of the greater Montreal area. My schooling up until 9th grade was done primarily in french and then from grade 10 to grade 12, mostly in english. When I was a month away from my 18th birthday, I remember it all too well,..the year 1995,..the year of the REFERENDUM. What happened? Basically Montreal and the Outaouias regions along with parts of Quebec City voted No! The rest of the geographic landscape voted OUI! So let's imagine the Church of Quebexico as it would be today had the seperatists won,..Now for those who understand why politics and the Church in Quebec are intermingled, you need only a little history lesson on Maurice Duplessis.

Quebec,..2011(Fiction)

Montreal's empty Churches have nearly all been sold as the Quebec schism took place shortly after the 1995 referendum,..Pauline Marois was installed as the first Queen of Quebec amidst an internal conflict over whether or not she'll also lead the Quebec Church. The Churches that weren't sold, also double as mosques, to house Quebec's nearly one quarter muslim population in order to better dialogue, because as long as 'les musulmans' s'exprimes en francais, there is really no problem. The local Bishops are now elected in by the people to create there own creed and there own objective reality. The Grand Seminaire has been hijacked by the diocese and turned into a centre for ecumenical dialogue and commitee meetings focusing on pottery, baking and just being nice,..(except to anglos,..) The english side of the diocese chose to remain with Rome except for a few sellouts adhering to the poltergeist known as the 'spirit' of Vatican II. Soooo,. Vatican II is ruled intolerable and therefore incompatible with 'le peuple Quebecois.' Consequently the english are exiled to the deepest part of the west island and oppressed by the Queen Pauline. The Church headed by Fr Tiffany immediately attempts to ordain woman, marry gays, ban all english, alow abortion/contraception in the name of tolerance, again unless your an anglo whereby they just sterilize you. Convents are turned into Reiki wellness centres focusing on Tai Chi healing, Yoga and Voodoo. The Latin Mass has however been banned because its not open enough...All this in the Quebecois Church! Isn't being open fun? Vive Pauline!!!

Marie Reine du Monde,.........prier pour nous.

Do Whatever He Tells You,...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:28:00 +0000

The following thoughts, I drew inspiration from Fr Gerry Martineau, my parish priest and his homily about the Blessed Mother. The more I journey toward wherever God is leading me in life, the more I draw inspiration from the witness of the Blessed Mother. Last Sunday became another 'Aha!' moment.

The weeks of Advent allow the Christian for a time of preparation, not just for Christmas, but also for Jesus's Second Coming which He promises us. The Gospel readings leading up to Christmas begin with Jesus Himself, declaring 'No one knows the day or the hour,.' Next we have Gospels concerning John the Baptist who acts as a preparatory prophet, calling on people to 'prepare the way of the Lord!' Finally this past weekend was the Blessed Mother! Her response was/is EPIC!!! (Be it done to me according to Thy will..) Just reread the Gospel of St Luke!! Dear protestant friends,..keep an open mind, then read Genesis 3:15,..then reread the Gospels,..ALL FOUR OF THEM!!! It isn't an ecumenism thing! It ain't a politically correct thang,..It's a 'Get yer head out of yer ass thang!!!' The Blessed Mother should not be dividing us,..She should be the woman uniting us!

Hail Mary Full of Grace,...........pray for us!

Why The Priest Needs Philosophy

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:42:00 +0000

Okay,...time to step away from the Optimusmastro character and revert back to Marco (imagine Bruce Banner!) The following is a paper that was done a few months back regarding why Priests need philosophy. In light of the recent metaphysical dimension of the last few posts, I thought I would reprint it! Please look past any spelling mistakes as I had to translate it,..(I had originally written it in french...)

Today's fast paced multicultural society has become a haven for ideas, fads, cultural norms and trends

each adhering to a certain set of guidlines or rules. The same can be said for religion as it is interpreted

by today's standards. What exactly do I mean by 'standards?' Well by way which humanity looks

upon religion as a cafeteria of differing beliefs, myths and superstition. It can be said that thanks to

mass media, the religious landscape is littered with not just differing and competing 'Christianity(s)' but

but also differing viewpoints on Catholicism as a whole and priesthood in particular. Therefore it is the

thesis of this paper to argue the necessity of philosophy in training future priests. Priests of today are

facing an up hill battle from the secularized world, differing religious traditions and finally it could

noted an internal identity crisis threatening the very fabric of Holy Orders.

Too often the Christian or Catholic can be labelled 'superstitious and closed minded clinging to

mythological truthes concerning a divine which orders humanity to its natural end. It is in this light,

where we must put aside the lense of Faith and thus put on the lense of Reason to justify not only

proofs or arguments for God's existance but also enable the future priest to speak to the world on moral

issues or ecumenical ones by establishing universal 'Truthes' based upon critical thinking. Topics such

as Abortion, euthanasia, and homosexual marriage have presented themselves upon the radar screen

within the politcal agenda, and thus need warranted attention from a priest seeking to better educate his

flock. In these case, the fallacious argument that 'its in the Bible!' would not suffice especially when

speaking with an unbeliever. In this instance, philosophy must step up to answer by proposing a

common universal truth based on logic.

1.What is Philosophy?

According to its greek root words, Philo and Sophia, philosophy literally translates as lover of wisdom.

In this light, the philosopher is one constantly seeking 'truth' to answer life's basic questions. Before

the Church, or Revelation for that matter was even a considered thought in the minds of men, the pre

-Socratics attempted to find the source, or 'arche' of all things. Sifting through different ideas and

theories, mankind sought to achieve the common goal of 'happiness' true authentic 'happiness.' Vatican

II reiterated in Optatum Totius; '

-Philosophical subjects should be taught in such a way that students are first of all gradually led to a solid and coherent knowledge of human nature , the world and God, guided by the philosophical tradition of lasting value.-

Taking this into account, the potential future priest candidate will no doubt have the rational tools and

intelligence necessary to combat the many differing mosaic of ideas and morality our current world is

now experiencing.

2. Philosophy as Anchor for Truth.

Authentic, true philosophy is properly speaking, studying a series of effects back to its cause. Pope

John Paul II is his encyclical 'Fides et Ratio' (Faith and Reason) argued that a proper

understanding of theology can never divorce itself from Truth. His opening line clearly outlines and

surmises his premise;

-Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves (cf. Ex 33:18; Ps 27:8-9; 63:2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 Jn 3:2). -

In his encyclical the Holy Father outlines the complamentary nature between Faith and reason. Faith

by itself only reveals what is mystery whereas reason seeks understanding in attempting to

intellectualize and show the Faith not as mere 'superstition' but as a full completion and answer to what

the profound thinkers without revelation could naturally grasp at. In other words, theology must take

off where philosophy leaves us, and thus provide us with an intellectualized Faith capable of standing

on its own. Simply put Truth is Truth. Therefore in comtemplating the mystery of God, whether we

get there by blind faith, or by reason, we are still ordered towards the same end. Herein lies at the core

the beauty of Catholicism, by which through its compatibility with reason, today stands alone through

its unique priestly formation stressing at first Truth as we can know it, and then Faith as the natural

answer to many of these philosophical questions.

The following is taken from the CCCB, (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops) Decree on the

Training of priests

-Why do future priests need philosophical training? What are the principal reasons?Philosophy for seminarians should be given atheological context, so that they may grasp “with everincreasing clarity the Mystery of Christ, which affectsthe whole course of human history, exercises anincreasing influence on the Church, and operatesmainly through the ministry of the priest” (Decree on

the Training of Priests, 14).-

Once again, going back to the beginning, the priest, who as an 'alter Christus' is seen as much more

than just a 'minister as the protestant understanding who have it, must be prepared to dialogue and

discourse in a world filled with differing opinion. Knowledge of philosophy becomes a tool for in my

opinion three key areas. Morality, Inter Faith and Ecumenism, the last two being somewhat

synonimous. Once again, returning to John Paul II,..another encyclical by the name of 'Pastores Dabo

Vobis, the priest in his time writes,.

For this reason the synod desired to "contextualize" the subject of priests, viewing it in terms of today's society and today's Church in preparation for the third millennium. This is indicated in the second part of the topic's formulation: "The formation of priests in the circumstances of the present day."

The challenges facing the Church, include, among other religions, especially Islam, is secularlism.

Truth is seen as something relative and thus emptied out of its objectivity has given us the fruits of

Abortion as was seen with the 'Hebert' article whereby even the disputability of a human being is

called into question. Philosophy steps in to answer these questions and show that you do not

necessarily have to resource yourself to Faith and the Bible especially while engaging a worldly

person. If the person is religious, a muslim,..then it becomes an entirely different story.

3. Philosophy as a starting point for Inter Faith dialogue.

Pope John Paul II started calling different religious leaders of different faiths to Assisi in order to pray

for peace. Apart from the secularist attack,.the Church it can be argued since the reforms of the

Second Vatican Council has found Herself more open to understanding Her interfaith and ecumenical

mission. Since dialogue and more importantly fruitful dialogue must be achieved so as to push

forward with her goal of evangelization, philosophy can used as a starting point to find common

ground. In other words, to seek what we share in common so that we may be able to better understand

where our friends in other religions are coming from so as to determine how far they are from

Catholicism. St Thomas Aquinas compaired the relationship of other religions to the Church in terms

of 'potentials' or by how much Truth they already possessed. In this light, the priest while speaking

cannot begin a theological discourse without establishing certain 'universalities' and how they got

there. Deep within the fabric of every human being, lies at the very core a true desire for Truth and

for the Divine. Both are one. Thus, philosophy can allow us that window to use our intellects with

adherents of other religions to bring them into a fuller understanding of who God is,.and how we as

man can be happy. A socratic dialogue can take place with a muslim whereby commonalities can be

establishment thus paving the way for Truth to prevail.

4. Philosophy as a key to Morality

Abortion. The very word conjures up debate and stirs emotions. As was briefly alluded to earlier, our

generation is faced with a moral vaccuum giving no clear indicator of whether or not Truth exists or

can be attained. Thus, our morality has suffered and one of the great holocausts of our time, Abortion

exists on a thin line enjoying support at times from well meaning people. The future priest knowing

that he'll have to deal with this said issue can resource himself within the philosophical context and

present to mankind, politicians and other just exactly when a human being is a human being. The same can be said for the just war argument. Peter Kreeft writes,.

Most of the controversies in our world today can be understood and solved only by good philosophy and theology; for instance, the relation between world religions, especially Islam and Christianity; human life issues such as abortion, euthanasia and cloning; the justice of wars; the meaning of human sexuality and of the "sexual revolution"; the relation between mind and brain, and between human intelligence and "artificial intelligence"; the relation between creation and evolution; how far we are free and responsible and how far we are determined by biological heredity and social environment; the relation between morality and religion, and between religion and politics; and whether morality is socially relative or universal, unchanging and absolute. -

Can it thus be sufficient to say that philosophy can at least attempt to produce a coherent plan for

humans to act in a just moral manner? The future priest knowing that he is dealing with essentially all

of these issues must be ready to give intelligent answers, cognitive and well thought out essentially

being able to dismantle the opposition's argument and present in its place a strong testimony of truth

regardless of whatever Faith tradition one belongs to especially in light of these moral issues,

Abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia and contraception.

5. Philosophy as an aid to Ecumenical Dialogue.

Unlike Inter-Faith dialogue, Ecumenical dialogue has at its goal, since the second Vatican Council the

mission that all Christians be one as Christ Himself is one. Obviously sin on both sides caused this to

be not quite the case. Philosophy, especially coming from the priest allows him to engage our

seperated brethren in serious thought. Most of the time, the philosophical training is cut and dry and

thus invites a sincere search for Truth. Examples of this can be found with regards to the subjectivist

positions and subsequent morality in some of the more 'liberal' mainstream protestant groups to the

'fideistic' fundamentalist groups clinging to a rigidity not based on common sense. The protestant

mosaic, being what it is offers a variety of opinion, and not much philosophy.

To conclude, Just how important is a philosophical formation in the future priest? It can safely be said

that it is essential. We have seen throughout this age that moral ambiguity, spiritual confusion, and

rampant secularism have all but extinguished any hope of metaphysical thought. The future it would

seem would be for the future priest no longer in a world that was once 'Catholic' be called on the carpet

to justify his views on differing subjects. The priest solidly in trained in philosophy specifically

Aristo-Thomism can be well equiped to articulate his positions from a purely rational point of view. In

this light, the priest, will not have to be seen as some relic of medieval superstition, but an actual

living breathing beacon for Truth! Technology, the fast paced consumerism and other contributing

factors have at times left the metaphysical masterpieces of the Greeks, but we must not forget, what

would they think of all this confusion and questions regarding issues that would be no brainers. In the

letter for the Congregation for Catholic Education, paraphrasing,..The modern culture has without a

doubt a certain hostility towards authentic philosophy. This last statement brings up yet another point

that was not truly addressed, and that is, as much as philosphy can anchor the potential priests faith in

God, it can also destroy it especially by deviating away from the Aristo-Thomistic mindset. (Aristotle

and Thomas Aquinas) Peter Kreeft, a well known Thomist thinker in the US, writes,..

-Philosophy can lead you to God, and theology can lead you further into God (or away from Him). And God is the source of all truth, all goodness and all beauty; that is, of everything we value. (If that is not true, then God is not God.) All truth is God's truth; when an atheist discovers some scientific truth, he is reading the mind of God, the Logos. All goodness is God's goodness; when an agnostic secularist loves his neighbor, he is responding to divine grace. All beauty is God's beauty; when a dissipated, confused and immoral artist creates a thing of beauty, he is using the image of God in his soul, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, however anonymously, and participating in God's creative power. -

Truth exists, it just does, and whether we get 'there' by Faith or by reason, we are still attempting to get

to the same thing. Mankind will always, maybe now more than ever ask himself, 'Who I am? Where

did I come from? Where am I going?' How can I be happy? The priest in his role as alter Christus

must be able to step up and be ready to articulate positions for why we are the way we are as Catholics

and not use theology to do it.

To summarize, future priests need metaphysical training the same way a boxer needs cardio and

stamina. It is the lifeblood of Truth to be able to wonder what is the 'Arche.' Now more than ever,

because of the reasons put forth in this answer,.Because of cultural shifts, because of morality and

because of pluralism and multiculturalism, because of interfaith dialogue and finally because of ecumenical dialogue. It is only through rational discourse that proper arguments can be put forth and

solutions metted out in the arena of reason alone. The Aristo-Thomism of the Catholic Church which

laid the groundwork for what we now call the modern university, is the only way for humanity to

recover its roots, studying a series of 'effect' back to its 'cause.' In this light, this priest, as bearer of

Christ to the world, must be prepared for that changed world, and thus meet it head on! Whether we

like it or not, forty-six chromosones are in a human being when the sperm meets the end! This makes

life fully life, and we didn't need the Bible to tell us, just our own active intellects!

Hope you enjoyed it,..I know, I know, just cause I have muscles, you didn't expect me to be so nerdy!!!

Philosophy Bedtime Story for Dummies,..

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 16:21:00 +0000

So it finally happened this past week! I was called an 'idiot' for being Christian aaaand 'if I would open my eyes to the great scientists and thinkers' of today's modern era, I would see that God doesn't exist, it was all just a fancy made up story! Weeell, all I can say is WOW!!!!!!! Where do I begin? A couple of weeks ago I was in the whore of Babylon by a well meaning evangelical who sincerely thought I over-intellectualized my Faith, and now,..according to this one person, I happen to be a well meaning 'idiot' for believing in God! Talk about extremes! 'Can you demonstrate in a simple way,..the rationality of God?' Here goes,..

So okay kiddies,..one day, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away,.(Earth) there was this dude named 'Thales' who came from Miletus(Turkey..). He sat up and said to himself,..what caused me? hmmm,..after speculation he concluded, 'Water!' Up to bat next and from the same part of town was another guy named Anaximander, this dude was taught by that Thales guy, but he disagreed that water was the cause of all things, because well,.water itself must be caused so he(Anaximander,..don't wanna lose you now,..) proposed the idea that everything stems from a 'boundless infinite.' Now Anaximander had his own pupils, who's names were Anaximenes and another super ultra cool guy named named 'Pythagoras.' (At this point there eyes lite up because that name sounds kinda mathematical..) Anaximenes, differed from his teacher again and concluded that 'air' is the cause of everything!   These guys are called the pre-socratics and they were searching for the 'Arche' or material cause of everything, because, well simply put, the greeks couldn't put up with babylonian mythology anymore, the idea that its raining so the 'gods' must be crying didn't fly..Now of course there were others, Heracletes, Herodotus and Xenophanes to name a few.. Okay kiddies, time to go for a peepee break!

So now that these people had tried to use their brains to figure out just what the hell caused us, there came this guy, and we can call him the Vincent K. McMahon of Philosophy! His name was Socrates! This dude was an Athenian and is largely credited as the father of western philosophy! The thing is, he didn't write anything but instead relied on his star pupil Plato,..(you heard of him? good job!) to write his thoughts down. The Socratic dialogue or 'conversation was born whereby an athenian stranger would ask, object and inquire about life, the pursuit of happiness and justice and virtue! It was sooo cool because well, all the objections were laid out, and Socrates would answer them! His desire for a just society though, led him into what we call today Socratic paradoxes, namely that no one desires or does 'evil' willingly yet we are almost pre programmed to do so! (At this point flashbulbs should be going off,..'original sin' anybody?) The end of life saw him accused by his society of corrupting the youth and blasphemy by introducing false 'gods.' Socrates did not fear death, and instead drank the elixir of poison after delivering his apology.

Plato. The man,..whooo! If Socrates is the Vince McMahon, then Plato is the Hulk Hogan of western thought! Plato's relationship to Socrates was that he was Socrates's student and it is alleged, one of the youths that Socrates corrupted. He was a wrestler(woohoo) and proposed theories on Mathematics, ethics, logic as well as superb metaphysics. Plato's philosophy proposed a 'world of universals' or 'forms.' He argued that there must exist two worlds, one of 'form' so that we, being rational thinkers(unlike a dog or a cat) already have an understanding of 'things' as they are in perception. To see a chair, I already have an understanding of 'chairness' or 'sitting' from the world of 'forms.' (Uh oh,..remember these Greeks didn't have the Revelation of God yet, but already our minds are being 'lifted up shall we say?) Plato believed that it was not rational to not believe in an immortal soul, because of the whole idea of the body as we see it. A great insight into his thought process, is the 'Cave,' whereby he illustrates man's prison inside the cave only seeing what perception allows him to but the, once he gets outside,..the real world, 'forms' become truly present!!! The 'sun' representing the ideal of the 'good.'   Okay,..peepee break number two!,..

Now on to the next dude,..Hey all you tired atheists, have you figured it out yet, that in fact it actually takes more 'faith' to be an atheist than to have a belief in Go--(oops, not there yet,..) a 'higher life power force, Vector sigma, the Matrix,..whatever you want to call 'it.' Now as much as Plato concerned himself with the world of 'forms' or 'ideas' in the end he was a dualist,..remember the cave analogy, well, he also applied it to the human body, that the soul was trapped in it, thus the body was a 'prison.' Okay, enough about that Plato guy,..let's turn our attention to his student,..Aristototle!!!!!!! (Glass breaks,..hit the music,..) Aristotle, (The Stone Cold Steve Austin of Philosophy) rejected his master's universe of ideas, and instead declared that all truth can be perceptively grasped in the now, and 'things' are the in themselves there own reason for existing! Four elements made up everything and they were earth, water, fire and wind! (The fifth one he proposed was Aether, which he claimed that the stars were made up of,..and thus incorruptible,..Hey! No one ever said he was perfect right?) He, obeserved that these earthly elements were corruptible and thus subject to 'change' sooooo,.he declared 'mobile being' as divisible by substance and accident, matter and form, essence and exostance and finally potential and actual! Ex,..I,.Marco am going to a big room. "I' the substance,.(Me) and in potential (going) to a big (accidental) room, (actual,..but always in potential,..). So,..Plato concerned himself with the heav--(oops,..'other world',..) and Aristototle concerned himself with temperal things. Now if everything is cause and effect,..this can't go on forever, right? He proposed 55 levels each attracted to the other and ultimately a final/first cause as the immobile motor! What was that??? Logic, Thought, les Pensees! Boooyaaaa!! (is this all making a little sense to you??)   Not for anything,..but the Gospel of Saint John and the 'LOGOS' should be firing off in your head right about,.......NOW!

Now, throughout salvation history, God decides to reveal Himself to Moses on the mountain,..What is His name? 'I AM WHO AM' Perfect pure Act, Pure being, no Potential,..this puzzle should be comin' together for ya,..right? So now, Jesus comes and completely reveals God to man, reconciling ourselves to Him,..remember that predetermined 'original sin' nugget from earlier? There were other thinkers along the way, including Epicurus, Augustine and the reigning heavyweight champion, St Thomas Aquinas! His Summa Theoligica, although never finished, perfectly synthesized thought, creating the Catholic school of thinking known as Aristotelico-Thomist. Truth is Truth! Plain and simple, whether you get there by Faith or by reason, we are all going to the same beginning.

I realize that this blog post was superficial and condescending, but I believe it needed to be done in order to serve a purpose. St Paul cites,.(Romans 2:14) (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law,)...I think every human being on the planet longs for God,..whether they know it or not. Again, I didn't expand on the idea, of souls being vegetative, sensitive or rational but I believe the Atheist really has no grounding whatsoever. As far as his great scientists go,..Hawking, Dawkins,..they all propose theories rooted in subjectivist thinking! A base philosophical precept states that 'something must come from something, something cannot come from nothing.' The product of the enlightenment simply divorced reason from Faith,..and is a direct result of the protestant revolt,..(sorry prots, but it is the Truth!) To the dude who called me an idiot,..remember as Catholics we are the ones responsible for the very idea of the university,..I'm not exactly Kirk Cameron trying to proove God using the banana, as well meaning as he is,..

God Bless,..sorry,.may the 'force' be with you.

From There to Here to,..The Vatican/SSPX...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:44:00 +0000

New development in the Vatican/ Society of Saint Pius X talks! Ok,..not really, but I had ya, didn't I? It seems the doctrinal preamble sent to the society by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will not be signed and has been sent back to Rome in order to be more clarified,..this according to Archbishop Bernard Fellay of the SSPX. If you are a new reader kindly search the archives if you want me to develop further upon the schism of the SSPX. At any rate, these 'talks' of course center around Vatican II's interpretation especially regarding ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. Rant time: First off no one knows the contents of what the doctrinal preamble said, all we can do is speculate, BUT,..(yes a big 'but') what's really cute in all of this is still the 1970s 'Catholik fruitloop crew' of heterodoxy and marxism opining on television, print or other wise on this issue! Hey guys, I thought we were supposed to be all inclusive!!! C'mon you people are discriminating unfairly against the SSPX! I mean afterall, since you people don't believe in excommunication, why were you so wrapped up in the Pope's lifting of SSPX excommunications? Some consistancy please? I know I'll get into trouble for this, but the heterodox crew along with their crayons and ecologically aware personalities can sometimes cause constipation. Even when they yell at you for being too 'conservative' (key word for 'orthodox') you can't hit one because their average age is 78!!! Here's a nifty idea,..let's let the Holy Spirit decide whether or not the SSPX returns to full communion!

An email came in recently whereby I nearly laughed my ass off(in a good way!) so hard that I began to tear up! The topic in question was how could I be certain I am called to priesthood. Well,..the short answer is very simple! I don't know if I'm called but that's why I have a Spiritual Director who will help me discern the process and thus guide me in such a way to see whether or not God is calling me to serve Him as a priest. How did this happen? Slowly but surely, step by step, I ran and ran and ran,..but guess what? Now matter how much temporal success I was given, I always felt 'something' was missing, a sort of deep thirst that I did not know how to quench. So I took the plunge...

Our Lady of Fatima,.........ora pro nobis.

'Andy'

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Note,..This blog post is about politics, not individual muslims. During a recent wave of youtube gluttony, I found myself watching several interviews with British lawyer turned Islamic nutjob Anjem Choudary. His thoughts, yet were very clearly articulated and he did not muddle his positions, whether it be on Christians, the future of Europe and the West, and why he feels the Sharia would make the best solution to the world's problems..See here.

Now before we ruffle a few feathers, yes Christianity has had its share of crackpots and looney tune bigotry among its ranks,..luminaries such as Westboro Baptist, Bob Jones III, Peter Ruckman and even the late Fr Feeney used to advance fundamentalist ideology to the point whereby 'Judge not' was for the common folk, but these dudes would judge you straight to hell and would even question God Himself. The point however is that both the secular and the religious called out their baffounry on the red carpet and truly made the effort to distance themselves from them. The one common thread these wackadoodles all share is that they all once were the life of the party! 'Andy'(as he was known to friends) used to enjoy downing pints of beer with his buddies and as far as his sexual appetite went, well he can thank God there was no sharia back then because he would have been stoned to death! Makes you kinda wonder whether his parents agree with his current ughhh,.'views' as an alternative to his previous lifestyle!

Choudrary is another story. Raised in 'multicultural' Britain, he piggybacks off of his homeland's freedom of speech to advance an alternative ideology completely at odds with Britain! Some might even argue completely at odds with Islam itself! Peter Kreeft in his book, Fundamentals of the Faith, speaks about the beauty and simplicity of Islam, Pope John Paul II echoed the same viewpoint. Irshad Manji is calling for the peace loving muslims, while Omar Brooks (another British 'dude') is sending people to hell for not being muslim! As a Catholic, I happen to disagree on major doctrinal points regarding regarding the nature of God in Islam, but that is another story and another post. However I believe this issue is a problem within Islam because it lacks no human governance, they have no central authority to declare what is dogma and what isn't. That being said, it can be argued that there is no true interpretation of exactly what authentic Islam is. The moderates are branded Kafir and the Shia,..something else...

What I believe is happening right now is essentially the Islamic version of both the protestant reformation and the enlightenment all rolled into one. Islam, being the youngest Abrahamic religion is encountaring both secularism and full blown atheism. Like Catholicism, Islam will have to undergo its own 'Vatican II.' We are at a crossroads, Huntington's Clash of Civilizations or Edward Said's Orientalism? As it stands right now, both are right. Which one will win out? That is the question! As for Choudary, I respect his honesty in the same way I respected Jacques Parizeau's view of an independant Quebec. At least they were honest...

Our Lady of Fatima,........ora pro nobis.

Benetton Ads, CAQ and a Friday Morning Qb...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:08:00 +0000

Another news story elevating my blood pressure and causing me to lift heavier is the recent Benetton 'UnHate' campaign. For those you living above the Arctic circle who haven't seen them yet,..well get your vomit bag ready because guess what anti-Catholicism is clearly the latest 'fall fashion!' (Oh wait a minute, according to most secular media outlets its actually in fashion all year round!) Click here! It seems that humanity has sunk to a new low with this one. So aside from being the cool thing to always bash Catholicism,.there is also a picture of an Imam in it,..which is why the 'left' is also condemning the ad. Just sayin,..' Hey mass media, there are more protestant ministers, teachers and coaches molesting children than there are Catholic priests doing it! The stats are there. Either way its wrong, but your discrimination is blatanly ridiculous! See here! What about teachers? See here! I made to link protestant sources on purpose, because well you sure as anything seem to turn a blind eye! To conclude this point, whichever person, says uhhh, yeah,..but uhhhh de Pope dude is making out wit an arab guy,..uhhh,..toke,..toke,..cough,..cough,..they are not alluding to the kid problem, I say this,..GET A CLUE!

Francois Legault launched his new party CAQ, (Coalition pour Avenir du Quebec) this week, and already speaking of the media, they were quick to criticize it! Yes, I know that my political rants are becoming less and less frquent, but sometimes it has to be said! For my American readership, most members of the Quebec media, (even those who work for CBC ) are card carrying members of the PQ. (Partie Quebecois.) Article one of this party is to seperate Quebec from Canada. The party in power right now is Jean Charest's Quebec Liberals and because of construction scandals (Yes,.. can you believe it, the mob implicated in construction? No!!) he is about as popular as the Holy Father at a gay parade. The problem is that people don't want to vote for the PQ because separation is going the way of the 'Spirit of VII' crowd,..ie extinction, so we don't need to stir them up causing our dollar to be worth the same amount as a 'peso.' The solution was Legault, himself a separatist, but the 'Rene Levesque' kind. He called a press conference several months back and allied himself with Charles Sirois, a federalist. The first thing they declared was that the separation movement is dead! Which by the way is true, the only people not knowing it is some left of centre cegep (college) students who don't work and of course the Quebec media, who are constantly trying to give it CPR...So Legault now is considered a traitor and thus the media has criticized his logo,...Yes,...his logo...

I need to get to the States, I need my Cookie Crisp Cereal,...but then again, they have Obama,..

St Joseph,.......priez pour nous!

Dear Michael Voris

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:35:00 +0000

Just a quick note to thank you for all the work you do over at Real Catholic TV. As a man in his thirties, I grew up amidst the turbulent 1980s whereby being forced to attend Mass, I would often wonder why God and Jesus were so into arts and crafts. But really? I can vividly recall one Sunday back then when I had a game in the morning. It was rare, because we were still somewhat sane, and stores were still closed. My parents, allowed me to play, but I remember being rushed off the ice, into the car because we had to be at Sunday school/'catechism class.' I remember most of the boys in class were also on my team, and we were ushered into the parish hall in full equipment, though our skates and sticks were left in the car. Myself, I was always into religion and my Faith, but having to rush to create a cardboard butterfly to give to Father 'Feelgood' so he could put it on the table of the Lord as we all sang 'Joy Joy Joy down in my heart.,.it didn't do it for me...Yup, that April, we made our First Communion. This Jesus dude wasn't portrayed to us as God Incarnate who died for our sins, but as a fluffy bunny rabbit who told everyone to be niiiice:) Yayyyy! Through shows like the Vortex, I know that I'm not alone with the above scenerio.

Now, times and things have changed! I am now discerning priesthood, and have not hidden it. I am still a work in progress(believe me!). I thank you for shining a light on those bottom feeding little pissants still controlling chancery offices and vocation recruitment. There I go being uncharitable again! Well I will not lay down my life for some wishy washy socialist driven politically correct bullshit-a-thon!. Newsflash! I am a man! I am a sinner! I need Jesus! I don't want to die in a state of unrepentant mortal sin! I truly wish to live the Call to Holiness! I need prayers! I support! There is a long road ahead of me,..Mr Voris,..keep up the good work, you are in my prayers! (Spins pencil,..)

To Mr Voris' marketing stylist,..Please do something about his hair,..really,.please. Its not cool, ..at all. ;)

Sacred Heart of Jesus,.........Have mercy on us.

Optimusmastro New Translation is Coming,...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:37:00 +0000

Shootin' Straight,...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:22:00 +0000

**Disclaimer,.This post will be concerning pornography in case children are reading**

A few days ago, I was asked my opinion about pornography. Is it really that dangerous, and what's so wrong about it? Well for starters, no one at one time was a bigger pig and womanizer than I was. I looked at life like a giant playground and sought to fulfill every petty little fantasy I could ever have dreamed of! Working out of a gym had its perks, and I certainly partook of it. What was missing? Well for one thing my smile...actually my smile was there but for all the wrong reasons.

Why was I not happy? On the surfcace I was 'content,' moving from one sensual stimuli to the next, yet completely empty on the inside. Imagine a cat purring as you pet it, then you stop. The cat then stops purring, this is how society as a whole begun to view itself. 'Happiness was not 'Joy' as we understand it theologically, but simplistic 'contentment.' Pornography operates the same way inside a man's psyche. It emasculates a man, by offering up the sensual delight as the ideal,..only one problem though,..because that woman you see in the picture is stripped of her humanity by every chemical cocktail coursing through your brain(pituatary gland),..she becomes an object of lust, completely divorced from love. Stability is then removed and in its place a sort of addiction forms. So the 'ideal' ceases to be ideal and keeps changing so you can 'get off.' The man then has difficulty maintaining a normal relationship with any girl. Guys,..by the way, don't kid yourself,.this porn problem is an epidemic!

How does one get free from porn? Well, the first thing is to do is to acknowledge that its there. Society has given it a mainstream acceptability, that even driving on the autoroute, you'll see 'La Senza' ads with women in lingerie. Ask yourself honestly, can it be argued that there is a link between pornography, contraception and abortion? Honestly, I think this is a no brainer....The second thing to do, is to use prayer as a resource! Jesus came to save us, so that we could be free!!! (Are we really free guys when we look at porn on the 'Net with a box of kleenex beside us? I think in all actuality, we look pretty freakin' ridiculous!) Jesus knows our struggle and yes it will take time, but prayer is essential! Thirdly, a Spiritual Director or someone we can be accountable to. Every guy struggles with this, it is how we fight that is the issue. Saints are sinners who fall but don't stay down,..they get back up! My friend Bishop Tom Dowd told me that the Church is not a hotel for saints,..it is in fact a hospital for sinners!

Do we win the battle? Well Jesus already won it for us at Calvary. Yes, we do have the residue of original sin, but as long as we keep fighting, offering up our suffering(s) we too can share in this victory! I, myself am a 'work in progress' but through prayer, and accountability, I hope to get this issue under control. One trick I did recently, was to remove the condom in my wallet and replce it with a benedictine medal and a picture of my beautiful Goddaughter Bianca. As men, it is embedded into our character to be protective of those we love. If I even suspected some guy of looking at her a certain way,..I would be prone to disconnecting that dude's head from the rest of his body!

Our Lady Undoer of Knots,.............ora pro nobis.

The Protestant Spotlight...

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:35:00 +0000

Every now and then my blog is discovered by some 'supposed' prominent evangelical looking to convert me out of the Catholic Church by lambasting me with the same run of the mill charges that we've heard time and time again. So 'Kevin' as I promised I'll read your material, oh wait a minute, yes, I already did read your material! I get enough of it in the mail,..the 'Chick Tracts?.. Strangely enough, I am not moved to renounce my Faith and adopt, in my opinion a more convenient version of Christianity, or should I say a watered down version. Perhaps, you should reread the Gospels and approach the way you evangelize in a different manner. Our Lord never imposes, only proposes. It is through invitation and free will that we follow Christ, if it isn't, then it isn't really a choice, is it?

By and large, I love my protestant brethren. Dare I say, if not for them, I would not be as zealous as I am. As Catholics, we can learn alot from our protestant friends, especially when it comes to living our Faith. Evangelicals, in particular wear their Christian Faith on their sleeve and are not afraid to proclaim it in the public square. They are on the front lines concerning abortion, so-called gay marriage as well as countless other societal and social issues plaguing our contemporary culture. We agree on some points doctrinally, but yes we differ on others. Does that mean it doesn't matter? Absolutely it matters!!!! For the protestant, they need to rely on natural Grace while we have access to the Sacraments!! The prots have to live their Faith so intensely, not because God is an accountant, but because they remain in imperfect communion with the Church. Some of them do just that. Among these evangelicals, we can find certain allies and people of good will(Billy Graham, Jack Van Impe) who honestly view the Church as just another denomination. In short we can offer Rosaries for these people as sometimes they are but one little nudge away from the Eucharist!

The other side of the protestant world, is the modernist mainstream crowd. These people, seem to tolerate everything and will do anything in the name of compromise sometimes without even realizing it. It should be noted that what seperates this group from the 'spirit of VII' group of heterodox 'catholics,' is that the mainstream protestants even tolerate authentic Catholicism, something the heterodox liberation theology crowd often has an allergic reaction to! They care little about objective truth, and follow a 'live and let live' philosophy,..too bad they contracepted themselves and they're respective communities out of existance! People like Pastor Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral fit this mold, Joel Osteen,..and the majority of anglicans...

The third group is where you fit in Kevin! The anti-Catholic. We can agree on most issues of morality and law but when it comes down to it, you see me as part and parcel of the Whore of Babylon! Well,..not really gonna argue with your type, but I will pray for you. I do accept you as my Christian brother, even if you don't accept me. I do, however have a couple of questions that you might want to ask Peter Ruckman or Bob Jones III or even the grand poobaah himself, Jack T Chick!,..The first being, when was the New Testament canonized and by whom? The second being,. where are all your martyrs and Saints throughout your history? Now, I'm not taking the philosophical route, or even claiming that the Bible is our (Catholic) book,..just posing some questions that'll make you think critically. I respect the fact that you care enough for my salvation to try to persuade me to leave the Church, but I in turn am asking you, what if you come to a knowledge of Truth? You won't be invincibly ignorant any longer,..so would you be ready to swim the Tiber because then your immortal soul could potentially be in danger? Only God knows the human heart,. We both believe Truth exists, but only one of us can be right.

My protestant friends, God Bless you! Some of you live your Faith in such a way that should make Catholics (including myself) feel ashamed. I will leave you with this,..Obviously 'Kevin' is a name I gave to someone who recently contacted me, but his type must be met with intelligent answers. Our late Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical entitled 'Fides et Ratio' or Faith and Reason. We must have reason, without it, faith becomes superstition. Our Church was born 2000 years ago at Pentecost.,..Only the Church can trace an unbroken line through apostolic succession,....My friends, think, pray on it,..because the way the world is going right now, I think it is time to come home.

St Francis of Assisi,..........Ora pro nobis.

The Autobot Litany,..

noreply@blogger.com (Marco) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:53:00 +0000

The title can be a little misleading but I am a Catholic Cybertronian afterall. Every now and then I step away from theology and Catholic issues to speak about Transformers, and finding the Catholic parrallels in them. Specifically Transformers Generation 1. Yup,..it can be safely said that despite my incredible superhuman strength, dangerous charisma, and ravishing good looks,..I am and will always be a geek at heart! So as a little break from all things heterodox, today I will present you the autobot hierarchy and what Saint they remind me of! Sooo,..here goes, Theology and Transformers!

Optimus Prime: Much more than a regular Saint,.Optimus Prime is in many ways a Christ figure similar to Aslan the Lion from the Narnia series. Among his attributes, courage, compassion and above all else self sacrifice for the autobot cause. Those of us in our thirties will certainly never forget that powerful scene of Prime roaring into autobot city after the forces were depleted. Optimus freely chose to give his life for what was right and true and in doing so, died. Yet, as Megatron through Prime's death was defeated, Optimus came back to life to once again save humanity and the galaxy from the 'Hate' plague. Images of 'Love' conquering 'Hate' resonate throughout Transformers. Even as a kid, Optimus would offer insight and wisdom to a whole generation, the same generation which didn't quite grasp the idea of Optimus executing a decepticon in the life action movie.

Ultra Magnus: Okay, admittedly this can get a little tricky, but Magnus for me always reminded me of St Peter. Magnus was a superd general in the autobot army and like Optimus was ever ready to sarifice himself for the good of the cause. Magnus lacked confidence the same way Peter the Apostle lacked Faith,..remember the whole walking on water from the Gospel? Yet, still Peter was made the first Pope by Christ Himself. Although Ultra Magnus was proven not to be the chosen one by the autobot matrix, (Rodimus) nevetheles, his natural leadership abilities made him retain his 2nd in command stature even after Optimus returned. In the 'Rebirth' series this is evidenced as Magnus leads the defence of Cybertron.

Rodimus Prime: In many respects, I've always found a similarity between Rodimus and St Paul. As Hot Rod, a case can be made that he was responsible for causing Optimus's death in the original movie. Remember that in the NewTestament, Paul as Saul was a pharisee in charge of leading the persecution of Christians. He (Paul) was even present at the stoning of Stephen, an early Christian martyr. Saul was knocked from his horse on the way to Damascus experincing a vision of the Ressurected Christ. Hot Rod was 'knocked' so to speak twice, upon Prime passing the Matrix to Magnus, Hot Rod touched it first thereby imprinting him. As well, Hot Rod experiences his 'Damascus' moment inside Unicron when from the Matrix, Prime's voice is heard, 'Arise Rodimus Prime!' Rodimus then becomes the central figure throughout season three, the same way that Paul becomes the central figure in the New Testament through his letters after Jesus ascends to the Father.

I will be blogging more often as of now, not making any promises, but am gonna try for twice a week, as I progress towards the discernment of the ultimate end. Please pray for me.

God Bless,....