Still Running Off at the Keyboard

CHASING AFTER APPARITIONS

A reader sent in a link to a Catholic Culture webpage on which has been posted Fr. Peter Joseph's explanation of the orthodox Catholic position on apparitions. The reader thought this was the best description of the process of discernment that he had seen, and I tend to agree. It's simple to read and apply. There is no new doctrine presented. It's merely a concise explanation of the Church's position on discernment. Anyone who has an interest in apparitions, and especially anyone who seeks out new apparitions for the purpose of promoting them, would do well to contemplate what is contained in Fr. Peter Joseph's essay. Souls are at stake, and the risk of delusion is very great. There is much wisdom in this priest's words. We risk our hope of heaven by relying on our own private judgments about supernatural events.

CANCER JOURNAL - Bone Biopsy

To hear the test described is enough to send shivers down Mrs. Butterworth's bottle, but the reality was a heck of a lot easier than the anticipation. All I could feel was the first pinch of the Lidocaine. I didn't have to see any of the instruments used which were all kept behind me. It must be that I have healthy bones because getting the needle into my bone took several attempts with the medical hammer--seriously. It was done using a CAT scan, so I could see the picture of the needle penetrating my bone--or not penetrating it in this case. Pound on the needle several times. Shove the patient into the CAT scan and see if any progress has been made. Back to pounding on the needle some more. I could feel the vibration as the radiologist pounded, but nothing more. At one point I suggested he try a drill. The test was a cinch, and I feel better than I did before going to the hospital this morning.

Of course I put it all in God's hands, and must not discount His involvement. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" are miracle words that need to be on anyone's lips if they are facing an unpleasant situation. I highly recommend them. Especially after today!

I'll get the results Christmas Eve morning.

I've been having some back pain that started with a mattress that needed to be replaced, and was. I was recovering when I tripped over my grandson's baby swing, fell down, and the swing came down on top of me. Talk about a klutz...I've got a giant bruise to prove my status! About three a.m. last night when I wasn't sleeping, I started to think about this glamor shot and couldn't stop laughing--old lady on the floor with a baby swing on top of her. It's making me laugh right now.

TOMORROW

I have a bone biopsy scheduled at 10 tomorrow and have to be at the hospital at 8, which means no blogging in the morning. Depending upon whether I can sit at a computer screen or not afterward, I'll try to get to the blog in the afternoon.

In the meantime, here is a list of the books Amazon offers by Piers Compton. THE BROKEN CROSS was his last book. He died three years after publication.

FROM THE EMAILBOX

Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)

Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 03, Number 44 | Friday, December 12, 2008

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www.hli.org

Election III - Assault on Conscience and Reality

November 4th was not just a historic date in history because of the election of the nation's first black president; it also marked a new division that was established in our country between those who have consciences formed in the truth and those who don't. I have constantly spoken of the need to battle for America's very soul, but I am seeing that there is more at stake here: we are engaged in a battle to define reality, and the outcome of that battle undoubtedly determines the fate of souls.

As evidence of this fight for reality, a court in Montana last week arbitrarily decided that doctors in that state can help people kill themselves. This was defined as an extension of a fundamental human "right" of the man who brought the case. That esteemed court pontificated thus: "The Montana constitutional rights of individual privacy and human dignity, taken together, encompass the right of a competent terminally (ill) patient to die with dignity...Montanans generally mind their own business and do not wish to restrict other people in their freedoms unless the exercise of those freedoms interferes with other members of society." Well, that's exactly the point, isn't it? Now that assisted suicide is the law of the States of Oregon, Washington and Montana, will the elderly, the sick and the handicapped begin to have a duty to die as well? Ask Terri Schiavo if she was "free" to choose life.

When the courts, or the policy-makers, divorce reality from sanity, then "other people's freedoms" will indeed interfere with the life of others in society, particularly the most vulnerable. Gone are the days when we could just say that we have to tolerate another's right to choose his own personalized belief system - pretty soon we will be forced to choose between his alien belief system and ours, and the results will not be pretty. Haven't we noticed in recent weeks, since the election, that the forces of lawlessness are marching in a militant fashion? Washington State legalized physician-assisted suicide in the election and Montana follows suit weeks later. Three states said a resounding "No!" to gay marriage, and churches and pro-marriage organizations have been attacked sadistically by homosexual activists. We also just learned that President-elect Obama has fawningly invited a radical Gay and Lesbian group called the Decadence Festival to march in the Inaugural Parade. We elect two pro-abort branches of government and these proceed to choose the most extreme abortion advocates for key positions in the Administration while all the world's attention is fixated on their money and their bailouts.

The distortion of meaning and sanity in the public forum will not be alleviated in the Obama Administration; in fact, it will be intensified. Americans have handed the institutions of political and social power over to people who have proven track-records of activism on radical issues that will destroy lives and souls. These have been emboldened by what they have interpreted as a national mandate for their agenda. Only the forces of conscience based on objective moral truth and common sense will counter the unholy agendas that will be visited upon our nation as a result of this election. We, for our part, must batten down the moral and spiritual hatches to make sure that we evaluate all things with the Mind of Christ, and when in doubt, let's look to the enduring wisdom of the Christian Tradition and the official teachings or our Church for guidance. We will be fortified in our battle by these blessings from on high.

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International