The STORM that's NEEDED

As we celebrate with friends and family it comes to the close of another year. We reflect on the previous 12-months and aim to do better with the next twelve, whilst also hoping for a less traumatic year to be had by all. Whether 2017 will be one of the good years or not we can only tell with time – though I believe this will be one big shake-up of a year for everyone. Get ready, world, to experience events of massive disruption to everyone: young and old, rich and poor, religious and atheist, slave and free.

During the last year the Church celebrated an extraordinary jubilee year of mercy. Divine mercy. This year, 2017, is a landmark year for many reasons, notably the centenary of the Fatima apparitions of Our Lady and the "miracle of the sun" but also 500-years since the "Protestant Reformation" ripped through Europe, fracturing western Christendom.

In the Jewish calendar we are currently in the year 5777. Those schooled in Biblical studies will know that the number seven is a divine number to indicate "perfection." The number five is to signify grace. 5,777 = grace + perfected. Have a read of this article on "Mystic Post".

So not only in the Church, but the Jewish mind also, we are at a cross-roads of sorts. Coincidence? According to Jewish Rabbi's, "coincidence" is not a "kosher" word. To many Catholics, coincidences are actually signs from God, or angels, which are signs from God, none-the-less.

Throughout the next nine and a half months there will be "signs in the heavens" culminating towards the end of 2017, near the centenary of the "miracle of the sun". Sadly, most of the world will not look up at the night sky to witness such events unfold before our eyes because they are too glued to their phones and computer screens.

"And a great portent appeared in the heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." – Revelation 12:1

For too long, God has been despised, hated, reviled, ignored, replaced. The whole world is wallowing in sin. In the west we have created a world without God. But God still exists, whether you want to claim he is a fable of antiquity, a moral guiding force for our ancient, illiterate, uneducated ancestors – as though we have the monopoly on knowledge! Perhaps, people in the past had things more spot-on than we have the world at this very moment.

Catholic prophecy speaks of a time when the "Immaculate Heart shall triumph" – I believe it will be soon, in the next twelve months. The prophecy also speaks of an "Illumination of conscience" where we will all experience a deep inward reflection of our lives and actions as they appear to God. Everyone. Not just Catholics. Not just Christians. EVERYONE. Some will take these signs for what they are, a warning from God, and choose to repent and mend their relationship with the Eternal Father. Many will have other excuses and grow harder in heart, becoming more wicked and evil.

Following this "illumination of conscience" there shall be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all who reflect and repent. Think the first Pentecost, but on a much, much larger scale. What an exciting time to be alive! The Lord is more-or-less giving us all a second chance, allowing us to know for certain He is real, from personal experience. An admonition. That shall be God's great mercy to us pilgrims here on earth.

Twelve-months ago I experienced my own personal "illumination" – though it wasn't THE "illumination" prophesied. Finally I understood the world in a different way. I understood why certain behaviours of mine were in fact evil. Sinful. I chose to take all that on board, renouncing the gay lifestyle I had been involved in since I was a teen. I broke-up the relationship I had with my now best-friend. Things have been going steady since, though I for one am not without sin, even now. The prophesied "illumination" may have to occur before I drastically change my ways, but I have started. Trust me, the sooner you know the truth, the better for your soul!

"Repent, and believe in the Gospel!" – Mark 1:15

My 'coming-out' story

So it's late at night. Can't sleep. Been a while since I've blogged. So get ready for one of my little all-over-the-place somewhat mini-rant and 'coming out' story. For those expecting a juicy, steamy, sexy adult post, you've got another thing coming! I'm coming-out of the closet with a range of thoughts, reflections and more importantly: as a creature of God, with a very Catholic view on the realm of sexuality, and the world in general. Enjoy my rant, feel free to comment!

Like any good practicing Catholic, I read the Bible every day. I reflect on it, I study and pray it too. Over the last few years I have been working my way through a guide so you can read the entire Bible and Catechism over the period of one-year, ticking the days off as you go. I am yet to actually fully complete one of these booklets, which I printed it from the internet, twice! Whether I actually complete the booklet, ticking off each day – or whether I start again if I have been inactive for a long period of time – isn't the point of the exercise. Rather starting one's healthy relationship with scripture is! Perhaps I'll print it a third time and start again in 2016, only this time I'll read the Catechism column as well. Previously I have only read the Bible column of the guide.

At the moment I am reading through 1Kings, also known as 1Samuel. As we Catholics aren't all that into memorising scripture, for those not well acquainted with scripture 1Kings is about King Saul, David and Goliath leading to the anointing and Kingship of David. The last time I remember reading these chapters I was referred to them by a pro-gay-Bible article I read only a couple of years ago. My thoughts have changed significantly since then as I was pro-gay-marriage more-so out of lack of education on the matter, not because I wanted to get 'married' myself.

So, as I was reading last time I was actually reading my personal thoughts into the Bible. The relationship that David had with King Saul's son, Jonathan, was symbolic of a gay relationship, what with them kissing and all. This is from reading a very Catholic Bible, the Douay-Rheims! It doesn't have to be a corrupted translation of scripture. At the end of the day there are really only two types of Bible readers: a) Those who read for the TRUTH allowing SCRIPTURE to CHANGE them; b) Those who read SCRIPTURE with their hearts closed to the TRUTH, finding any possible way of CONDONING their SIN regardless of how stupid and irrational it sounds to anyone else.

Besides, the whole idea of sexual preference and defining it is only a fairly new ideal of modernism. Before the latter part of the last millennium no one anywhere actively defined themselves based on who they find sexually attractive. Many people who did have same-sex relations were fooling around, or depending on the culture it was a thing of power, domination, at times even for pagan religious worship. This all led me to reflect on my life and experiences. Certain things were filling my head from the past and the present as I lay in bed trying to sleep.


Mind racing, I decided to get up for a while figuring I wouldn't be getting to sleep any time soon, the hot night not helping much either. Back when I was in high school I remember people mentally placing people into groups. The jocks, the popular girls etc; and one of the new though un-popular fashions was to be 'label-free' which most people hated because we had the high school opinion that we must define, re-define, over-define pretty much everything in life.

Aware of having an attraction to the same-sex I would define myself as bisexual, then as gay, back to straight again followed by gay. Back in the turn of the century growing up I was picked on for this choice for the rest of my days at that school. Why didn't I just go by 'label-free' if I was having trouble choosing my sexual identity, as if it ever matters, especially at the age of thirteen! Like I said, it wasn't cool to be 'label-free' because then you are just wanting more attention. Rather stupid way of thinking, because now I would much rather use that term than gay, bisexual or straight. For someone to call themselves 'label-free' would be much smarter and not looking for or wanting attention.

In hind-sight I wish I made much better decisions in my early life, one of those being not to define myself by my sexual thoughts because it just doesn't matter! Sometimes I believe if I had kept it to myself I probably wouldn't have ever ended up going through the gay world. It could have been that decision to tell someone who blurted it out, making me hated by my peers for the rest of my time at the school. As a result I looked for friends outside of school, my hormones running wild and never really having any close male friends through my earlier years. Thus the gay community became a home of sorts at a very young age. Now it is a culture I can see through, one I have known about, one I have no interest in anymore.

Why would I want to support the lies of the gay community? Everyone looks so happy, so gay in the original meaning of the word, why not hijack the word to define their disordered affections? Not happy with that they even make a mockery of the rainbow. Truth of the matter is it is just a facade all the carefree happiness they exude. On the inside, they're crying. They're miserable. Depressed. Whether it's from a combination of drug and alcohol abuse or just their deep need for real love not objectification, the gay community really has nothing to offer anyone. Not that I am saying those in the community are worthless, but they are duped; by the media, secular education and their disordered way of life.

Many are seemingly ignorant, useful cogs in an agenda they don't know actually exists. There is much truth in the popular saying: 'ignorance is bliss!' I on the other hand would prefer the truth, even if it is hard to accept and apply to ones life, because as an ever better saying goes: 'the truth will set you free!' John 8:32.

HAVE NO FEAR

"The greatest weakness in an apostle is fear. What gives rise to fear is lack of confidence in the power of the Lord; this is what oppresses the heart and tightens the throat. The apostle then ceases to offer witness. Does he remain an apostle? The disciples who abandoned the Master increased the courage of the executioners. Silence in the presence of the enemies of a cause encourages them. Fear in an apostle is the principal ally of the enemies of the cause. 'Use force to enforce silence' is the first goal in the strategy of the wicked. The terror used in all dictatorships depends on the fearfulness of apostles. Silence possesses apostolic eloquence only when it does not turn its face away from those who strike it. So it was in the case of Christ's silence. But in that sign, he demonstrated his own courage. Christ did not allow himself to be terrorised. Going out to the crowd, he said courageously: 'I am he.'

Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński

Servant of God. 

'Evangelii Gaudium' quote

"Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!"

POPE FRANCIS

"Evangelii Gaudium"

Preparation for Death

O my God, I thank thee for the time which thou givest me to repair the disorders of my past life. Were I to die at this moment, the remembrance of the time I have lost should be one of my greatest torments. Ah, my Lord, thou hast given me time to love thee, and I have spent it in offending thee. I deserve to be sent to hell from the first moment in which I turned my back upon thee; but thou hast called me to repentance, and hast pardoned me. I promised to offend thee no more; but how often have I returned to sin! How often hast thou pardoned my ungrateful relapses! Blessed forever be thy mercy. If it were not infinite, how couldst thou have had so much patience with me? Who could have borne with me so long? O, how sorry do I feel for having offended so good a God! My Savior, the patience alone with which thou waitest for me ought to enamor me of thee. Ah! Do not suffer me to live any longer ungrateful to the love thou hast had for me. Detach me from every creature, and draw me entirely to thyself O my God, I will no longer dissipate the time thou givest me to repair the evil that I have done; I will spend it all in serving and loving thee. Give me holy perseverance. I love thee, O Infinite Goodness, and hope to love thee for eternity. I thank thee, O Mary; by thy advocacy thou hast obtained for me this time which is given to me. Assist me now, and obtain for me the grace to spend it all in loving thy Son, my Redeemer, and in loving thee, my queen and my mother.

St. Alphonsus Liguori.

“Preparation for Death”