Long Live Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Photos from today's events. Love you Papa, we'll miss you!!

The Bishop In White

There are definitely things moving in the Church, and as the time is coming closer for the election of the new Pope, it is becoming quite interested what is developing. As for many of us, our understanding of Pope Benedict’s resignation was due to his “advanced age” as he stated and inability to carry on with the mission that was handed to him to lead the Church. But recently I came across some new information behind the Holy Father’s reason to resign, information that I found very intriguing.  

According to “These Last Days Ministries” website, Pope Benedict’s action is something that is unprecedented in the history of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. On their site they state that “Yes, there were a couple of other resignations of popes in the past, but the circumstances were totally different. Never has a pope resigned because he felt too tired and weak to carry on.” This along with another site that I found bringing attention to the two lightning strikes onto the dome of St. Peter’s that evening added an mysterious emphasis that the Pope’s action demanded the world’s attention.

So what is happening? Well… if my research is leading me in the right direction, this is something really big and revolutionary in the Church.

According to Robert Moynihan, a reliable, long-time Vatican observer and Founder of Inside the Vatican magazine, who also finds himself disturbed about the Pope’s announcement, wrote:

“Are there facts the Pope has weighed in making this decision that we simply don't know about, or don't know fully? … Does the Pope have information about the possible course of events in the months ahead that led him to conclude that he needed to allow a younger, more energetic man to take over his office from him, so that the Church's highest authority could take action quickly and decisively as events unfold?”

It is clear to me that the Holy Father’s fatigue has come about from much more than aging. In reading other commentators online, they have revealed an aggressive battle going on within the Catholic Church and a notably rising tide of hatred towards authentic Christianity from outside. Moreover, a comment from Benedict, adds to the impression that resignation was decided for strategic reasons. A new pope had to be quickly chosen because of the pace of alarming events both within and outside the Church. During his Ash Wednesday homily, Benedict stated: 

“I am thinking in particular of the sins against the unity of the Church, of the divisions in the body of the Church.”

And then we should remember these words from his first Mass as Pope: 

“Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.”

Is he fleeing from the wolves, especially those within the Church, who he knew would inevitably, incessantly attack him during his pontificate? I highly doubt it. They have been even more brutal than he anticipated in response to his determined rolling back of some of the chaos that followed Vatican II and his strong rebukes to all the elements of the Culture of Death. According to Life Site News, they say that “Benedict’s resignation should instead, be seen as a deeply humbling self-sacrifice to pave the way for an urgently needed stronger pope and stronger Church.”

Benedict's radical action and sense of urgency for doing so makes more sense in the light of excerpts from what then Fr. Ratzinger stated in a series of 1969-70 radios addresses on German and Vatican radio. These were published in 2009 in the book, Faith and the Future.

“The church will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning.

She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes…she will lose many of her social privileges…. As a small society, [the Church] will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members…."

"…But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.

And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. She may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.”

The Holy Father’s words in these radio excerpts echo to me the same kind of words that Our Lady of Good Success spoke when talking about the end times, and the Church’s faithful becoming less and less. This is not saying that we are loosing members to our Church, no, but I would venture you to consider how many of our members are all good practicing Catholics who follow their Catechism to a T? And don’t get me wrong; I am guilty of this too in my lack of full knowledge of all Church teachings. It is not too far off to say that we all need a restart in our faith, since our faithful members are becoming less.

So, something needs to be done. According to Our Lady of Good Success, we should not be afraid because as she points out, “The Church will return to her former beauty.” A reset is at hand I believe. And Benedict's past Sunday Angelus prayers, as reported by Vatican Insider, fit this same theme. He prayed:

“The time of testing is here. We must not use God for our own ends.”

Recently in last December 2012, Pope Benedict promulgated Intima Ecclesiae Natura, a law whose consequences will have a serious and lasting impact, especially in the United States.

As Christopher Manion of Crisis Magazine reports: “In the next twenty years, we will witness one of the biggest shifts in Church’s educational and charitable activities. When Intima Ecclesiae Natura, is fully implemented, the Church will have to sever its ties with an increasingly hostile, even hedonistic, secular government, and cease accepting government funding for its charities, its educational institutions, and its hospitals. The results will be revolutionary—and liberating.”

“Benedict has set in motion dramatic processes to correct the abuses and damages and steer all Catholic agencies back onto their correct path of being part of the evangelizing mission of the Church. Very many have strayed far from that primary role of Christian charities and in fact, as we have shown, many Catholic Church-funded groups actively oppose Christian principles on life, family and other crucial issues.”

Australian Cardinal George Pell's response to the resignation explains more of why Benedict felt he had to make way for a more energetic pope to carry on the multifaceted reforms that he began. Pell states, as reported by CathNews: The new Pope must save the Catholic Church from waning influence amid the evils of modern society "If we go under, we surrender to the tides that are breaking up families, decreasing the birth rate, the challenges of alcoholism and drugs and pornography. If we collapse or we wobble disastrously, it won't be for the good of the western world at all," he said.

It is also important to note something else that I forgot to look at in my research for my article on “Papal Prophecies”. A lot of these events that are occurring are also surprisingly pointing us to the events that are described in the Third Secret of Fatima. Yes, Fatima!

In the portion of the Third Secret revealed by the Vatican in the year 2000, there is a vision of the Holy Father passing “through a big city half in ruins”, who is then “killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions”.  Earlier in the same vision, Sister Lucia also reports seeing one she refers to as “a Bishop dressed in white”.  Yet she did not refer to the Bishop in white as the Holy Father, but only said “we had the impression that he was the Holy Father”.

This is very interesting why Sister Lucia used the term “Bishop dressed in white” in the first part of the vision, rather than the name “Holy Father”, who she later identified as being killed? Does this vision refer to two different men: one who is the Pope and another who is only dressed like a pope? Prophecies are usually unclear until they unfold, but recent events may shed a new light on this curious phrase used by Sister Lucia.

As we know now according to Fr. Georg Ratzinger, the brother of Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy Father will continue to wear white after he has resigned, and he will retain his papal name, yet be referred to as His Holiness Benedict XVI, Bishop Emeritus of Rome. So basically he will be “a Bishop dressed in white”. Is this the future bishop dressed in white that Sister Lucia was referring to? If so, is it he who is killed by the group of soldiers, as shown in the Vision? Or is the Vision perhaps referring to a future pope – the one Sister Lucia calls “the Holy Father” who is reigning while Benedict XVI is still alive? 

It is interesting to note that Pope St. Pius X also had two visions that were similar to the Fatima Vision of Sister Lucia. In 1909, during an audience with members of the Franciscan Order, St. Pius X had a vision of a future pope fleeing Rome. He said:

"What I have seen is terrifying! Will I be the one, or will it be a successor? What is certain is that the Pope will leave Rome and, in leaving the Vatican, he will have to pass over the dead bodies of his priests!" 

Just before he died Pope St. Pius X had another similar vision, in which he saw a future pope of the same name fleeing over the bodies of his brethren, before being killed himself.       

"I have seen one of my successors, of the same name who was fleeing over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in some hiding place; but after a brief respite, he will die a cruel death”.

It will be very interesting if the next pope we see takes the name Pius XIII - “the same name” as Pius X. All-in-all it is clear that something big is happening here in the Church. And it is very possible that we are progressing towards to the events foretold at Fatima. May we renew our courage and zeal for the Faith, always remembering the words of Our Lady of Fatima: In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.  

Reform Your Heart... Not the Church!

­In the wake of Pope Benedict’s announcement, you may have heard many discussing how “they think the Church needs to reform.” Whenever I hear this I just want to bust out laughing. “Oh please, dear media, celebrities and pop culture enthusiasts… please tell us how you think the Church that Jesus Christ founded needs to reform!?” Are you serious? Where do these people come off thinking that they have this great knowledge of what is right for the Catholic Church?

One of the first things I often hear is that the Church needs to change the Sacrament of Holy Orders to allow women to be priests. According to them, this would help in the Church’s vocation problem and also show that the Church is “with the times” on the equality of women.

Right off the bat, I can’t believe that this argument still continues? It’s about as pointless as people demanding that the government release documentation on alien life! It’s ridiculous! And really a blasphemy to the Sacrament of Holy Orders!

Let’s get some things straight on this issue. Number one, it’s not up for debate in the Church, so making this an issue is only creating excuses aroused by the Devil to have aversion to the Church. If you are someone who thinks that the Church needs to allow women to be Priests, then you clearly have no knowledge of what the Sacrament of Holy Orders is all about, nor its meaning to our salvation. There are many arguments out there that have been said that truly hold no weight what-so-ever on this topic! And if you believe any of them, then you have truly been fooled, so let’s clear some things up.

The most common argument is that Jesus never ordained women because at the time it wouldn’t have been acceptable. This is such an ignorant statement. We know that historically Jesus did many things that were unacceptable at that time in history. So many unacceptable things including for example, even allowing women to be amongst His followers, that it eventually lead Him to His death. If Jesus wanted women priests in His Church to begin with, He would have ordained them, and instructed His Apostles to ordain them and the people of those times would welcome it because Jesus said so. However the mere fact that He didn’t even ordain His own beloved mother who was the best woman that ever lived, clearly points out that this was not a matter of social politics, but actually a matter pertaining to the spirit. Men and women are created equal in many ways, but we are not the same. We are still created wife and mother, husband and father. Roles that are not interchangeable. The role of a man being called to the priesthood is true poetic justice to his fall in the Garden of Eden. Because man failed to protect his wife in the Garden of Eden, it has been put upon men this task to now protect the Church who is the Bride of Christ.

When Christ came into this world, He came as a man. Why? Because the essence of man as created by God, is to be leader, protector and father. Jesus showed men how to truly act like men by showing Himself as the “New Adam.” Since the first Adam failed, Jesus shows us the true way to be, and therefore through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, man is called to act in Persona Christi, (in the person of Christ). To protect, lead and father the Church and the children she bares. This is not a feminine role. Of course Jesus showed us all how to live out our calling in Baptism to be priest, prophet and king. But this is a different kind of priesthood than that which is given to us in baptism. For any man, Christ has given us the example of how to live our lives as true men of God. And the Sacramental Priesthood is a good fulfillment to that nature as a man.

For a woman to want to be a priest, it wouldn’t make any sense. They want to become more manly like Christ? No. A woman should feel the call to be more feminine like Our Blessed Mother, who like I mentioned, was never ordained a priest. Mary was the only perfect woman that ever lived. She is even referred to as the “New Eve”. Who wouldn’t want to model their femininity after hers? Unless for some bizarre reason you think you are better than the Blessed Mother?

Besides the spiritual reasons behind why women can’t be ordained, the Church has made it clear for centuries that this is a dogma of the Church and cannot be changed. Even Blessed Pope John Paul II made it clear in his apostolic letter “Ordinatio sacerdotalis” in 1994 that even if the Church wanted to ordain women, they do not have the power to do so. He even concluded his letter by speaking from the Chair of Peter and declaring infallibly that, “Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.” By the Pope stating “I declare” this is an infallible statement, it therefore should be understood that this issue is… case closed!

But what about how it could help vocations in the Church? This is also a false accusation that is about as equal too Obama’s idea that if we spend more, our national debt will go away. The answer is no, ordaining women would not help the vocations problem. It would only hurt Holy Mother Church and her children. The vocations problem is not caused by not allowing women to be priests, it’s because currently no one is taking their faith seriously. Before Vatican II when the seminaries were overflowing with vocations, the faithful were serious about their faith. Now-a-days when there are such things as “Clown Masses” and homilies that start out with a joke, the seriousness of a vocation is lost. What is needed is a return to the reverence and traditions of the Church, along with a greater understanding of our Catechism. If you look at parts of the Church that are very traditional and have a stronger reverence for the Eucharist, there you will find many vocations growing day by day.

Another thing to mention is that the argument to allow priests to get married is another idea that truly holds no weight in helping the Church. Although even St. Peter himself was married and some priests who are apart of the Eastern Rites of the Church allow their priests to be married, this does not help vocations. It actually makes the vocation a lot tougher! Ask any married priest of one of the Eastern Catholic Rites of the Church and they will tell you that life, as a married Priest is no picnic.

Yet some will also say that allowing priests to get married would also help the abuse scandals in the Church. False. The abuse scandals were not caused because the practice of being celibate.  The abuse scandals came about because of temptations and feeling in these men that were never addressed and eventually a sin was committed. And because of these incidents, the Church is taking action to better council these men and helps them to fight these impure temptations.  Allowing them to marry is not a solution. Remember that even Protestant Ministers have had similar problems in their churches, and many of them are married.

On the issue of allowing even contraception in the Church… that also will never happen. God said from the beginning, “be fruitful and multiply,” do you really think that His Church would condone a practice that would put a stop to life? No. Even Humane Vitae states many of the dangers that contraception can cause. I think people often view contraception as a necessity when having a family and wanting to space each child out. Or people might also think that it is important to give it to your children so that they don’t get pregnant by “mistake”.

Lets all remember that a baby is not a mistake. If two people, whether they are married or not, engage in a sexual embrace, there is likely a chance that they could become pregnant. This is not a new phenomena people! If you don’t want to have children, then don’t put yourself into that scenario! And especially, if you are someone who doesn’t want kids… then marriage really isn’t for you. Marriage by historical definition from the beginning of time was made for a man and a woman to be joined together to bring life into this world and raise that life as mother and father. If you are not ready to be a father or mother, then you are not ready for marriage! And if you are married and are not open to life, then you might need a reform of your marriage because you are missing out on one of the greatest gifts that this sacrament holds. And don’t worry about the number of children God gives you. If a child is conceived, then they have a purpose and mission set by God to live out in this life. We must remember that God watches over all of us, and takes care of us. (Matthew 6:26) Therefore no one should every worry about how they will support their children because as long as you have faith in God, He will never give you more than you can handle. I was even told the story once of a family that was down to their last dime, and the father put that dime into the collection box at Church. His wife was so angry at him for what he did, but he knew God would provide for them. And sure enough when they arrived home, neighbors had left baskets of food on their doorstep. God is good!

You see the Church teaches these things not to be “behind the times”, but rather they are ahead of the times. The Church knows by the guidance of the Holy Ghost what is right and what is wrong for the faithful. Even Jesus preached about how it is wrong to follow the traditions of men (Mark 7:8) instead of the commandments of God. The traditions of the Church are not that of men, but are the teachings of Jesus Christ handed on down through the Apostles and Bishops of the Church. It is the Catholic Church herself that is the only Church that holds steadfast to the truth of God, because the Spirit of God runs her. Who are we, to tell God to reform His Church? It is those of us who find quarrel with the Church who rather need a reform of heart so that the next time we hear one of these fantasy stories about how the Church should be, we will know it is nothing more than a fantasy.

Papal Prophecies

We have all been shocked by the news of Pope Benedict’s resignation. It really was a decision that came with no warning at all. If you even see the pictures of the Holy Father delivering his message to his fellow cardinals, all around him they seem to also have a look of shock on their faces. Truly our Holy Father is a dear and humble man, and did a great job at even out smarting the media on this one!

It’s very sad to know that our dear Holy Father will be retiring. He is one of the greatest theologians in the world and has given the Church so much wonderful and inspiring guidance. His leadership in the Church will be greatly missed, but now we must look forward and pray for our next Pope. Who will he be? What is to come in the Church? I learned a long time ago that we should not worry about what the future may hold, nor involve ourselves with predictions and prophecies of the end times. We must remember what the Bible says about how no one knows when the Apocalypse will occur. However, we must always be ready for the end!

Since the Holy Father’s announcement, many have begun to talk about the St. Malachy prophecy on the last pope and how Pope Benedict XVI sounds a lot like the second to the last pope of the prophecy. At the end of the prophecy it states:

In the extreme persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit ... Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations: and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the terrible judge will judge his people. The End.

Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone

Who is this “Peter the Roman”? Is he the one who will come after Benedict XVI? Many are beginning to speculate that this could be pointing to Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone, S.D.B., who currently holds two important and powerful positions in the Vatican, Secretary of State and Camerlengo. Some of these theorists are saying, Cardinal Bertone was “born in Rome” and because his middle name is Pietro, (Italian for Peter) an interesting case could be made that he could be our next pope. However, Cardinal Bertone was not born in Rome, he was born in the Northern Italian town of Romano Canavese, in the Piedmont region, near the City of Turin. So there are some errors in this speculation already.

Personally, I don’t buy it. The Malachy prophecy of the last popes still sounds a bit sketchy to me, and I wouldn’t place all my eggs in one basket over this one. My guess is that we will all be surprised by the election. For that matter, I’m not fazed by the speculations people are into right now. The Holy Ghost is in charge of this process and will ultimately decide who our next pope will be.

One thing that is interesting to me, and probably a more valid prophecy than all the others is the dream that St. John Bosco had about a future pope who will guide the Catholic Church through a fierce storm of attacks into a respite of calm and peace.

In his dream, Don Bosco saw the Church as a great three-masted ship being moored securely between two towering pillars representing the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary.  As Patrick Madrid stated in his recent online article addressing this topic, “I think many Catholics today would agree that, however choppy the water may be right now, the Catholic Church seems to be headed straight into a dark and dangerous storm of gale proportions.” He goes on to also point out that “Cardinal Francis George recently said as much when he commented prophetically that he expects to die in his bed, he expects his successor to die in prison, and he expects his successor’s successor to die a martyr’s death.”

Lightening strikes the dome of St. Peter's

This leads me to believe that something truly is moving in the church right now. And how ironic that on the morning that Pope Benedict delivered his announcement, the lightening struck the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica twice! When does lightening strike the same place twice?

There is also talk I have read about the “Worthy Shepherd Prophecy,” attributed to Blessed Tomasuccio de Foligno, which predicted that an Angelic Pope would come and heal the Church of schism and would be elected by "about twelve years shall the millennium have passed":

"One from beyond the mountains shall become the Vicar Of God. Religious and clerics shall take part in this change. Outside the true path, there will be only disreputable men; I shrug my shoulders when the Bark of Peter is in danger and there is no one to lend it help... The schismatic shall fall into the scorn of the Italian faithful... By about twelve years shall the millennium have passed when the resplendent mantle of legitimate power shall emerge from the shadows where it was being kept by the schism. And beyond harm from the one who is blocking the door of salvation, for his deceitful schism shall have come to an end. And the mass of the faithful shall attach itself to the worthy Shepherd, who shall extricate each one from error and restore to the Church its beauty. He shall renew it."  

The first known prophecy of the Angelic Pope, or pastor angelicus, was cited by the English polymath Roger Bacon in the 13th century:

...Forty years ago it was prophesied, and there have been many visions to the same effect, that there will be a pope in these times who will purify Canon Law and the Church of God from the sophistries and deceits of the jurists so that justice will reign over all without the rumbling of lawsuits. Because of the goodness, truth, and justice of this pope the Greeks will return to the obedience of the Roman Church, the greater part of the Tartars will be converted to the faith, and the Saracens will be destroyed. There will be one flock and one shepherd, as the prophet heard (John 10:16)...
(Taken from Roger Bacon's The Third Work. Trans. by B McGinn Visions of the End (New York, Columbia, 1998) p190)

The Angelic Pope of medieval prophecy was foretold to heal the schism with the Eastern Othrodox Church (which echoes the conversion of Russia prophesied at Fatima). Later, the pastor angelicus prophecies would also be connected to the reunfication of the schismatic Protestant churches with Rome, as well as the future conversion of England - such as foretold in the original 1846 Church-approved version of the secrets of La Salette:

The faith will die out in France: three quarters of France will not practice religion anymore, or almost no more, the other part will practice it without really practicing it. Then, after [that], nations will convert, the faith will be rekindled everywhere. A great country, now Protestant, in the north of Europe, will be converted; by the support of this country all the other nations of the world will be converted.
Before all that arrives, great disorders will arrive, in the Church, and everywhere. Then, after [that], our Holy Father the Pope will be persecuted. His successor will be a pontiff that nobody expects.
Then, after [that], a great peace will come, but it will not last a long time. A monster will come to disturb it.

This last prediction sounds very familiar to me, in that is correlates with the prophecies of the “Great King” who will come and help the Pope convert the whole world and bring a time of great peace, which will then be over soon when everyone becomes so fat with happiness, that they forget about God. It is then that the Muslims will move in and a battle will break out in which the Great King will be killed, and the Antichrist will arise. 

Our Lady of Good Success

But is it too much to assume that this is all about to take place? For all I know, and keeping in mind that we do not know the day or hour of the return of Christ, this may all be rushing things a bit too quickly. Maybe what is happening is what Blessed Tomasuccio de Foligno is talking about in his "Worthy Shepherd" prophacy for a return of the Church to her “former beauty” as even Our Lady of Good Success speaks of? Maybe since some of the great movements recently in the Church by the Holy Ghost through Pope Benedict XVI and even Pope John Paul II, have been a return to the traditional, we are more likely to see a "worthy shepherd" be elected. A worthy shepherd who will go into a deep review of the documents of Vatican II, and revive the Church to her beautiful and gorgeous state when saints and martyrs were born, and the strength and faith of the Church was rich and overflowing with followers is about to come.

Regardless of anything, there is something happening in the Church I feel. And it is a feeling that gives me hope and a bit of “excited fear”. Whatever is happening, I know is going to be big! Nothing but good things are ahead of us I believe.

Viva Papa Ratzi!

Pope Benedict’s Resignation: My Thoughts

1.     Disappointment and sadness. Pope Benedict is a wonderful beloved Pope and he will be greatly missed! I feel like he has so much to still offer, but I respect his decision.

2.     He spoke in his statement that he came to this decision over much time in prayer. Therefore I must believe that this is also God’s Will.

3.     I’m not afraid. I trust and believe that since this is God’s Will only good things will follow.

4.     The Church is ultimately run by the Holy Ghost and we know that the “gates of Hell will never prevail against it.” Maybe God is planning to appoint someone who the Church greatly needs right now, a Pontiff that will help the Church and increase her faith and members. We are facing some troubling times with atheism and paganism on the rise. Terror at every corner of the world, and leaders who lead nations with their own selfish pride. Not that Pope Benedict hasn’t done a great job already, God just might have someone new in mind that may bring a fresh new insight into things that will open our hearts to Christ even more.

5.     We must remember that this is not the first Pope to retire. A number of popes have resigned before, most recently in 1415, when Gregory XII resigned. Even Blessed John Paul II thought about resigning repeatedly but didn’t, likely in significant part because there were calls for his resignation and it would have set a terrible precedent.

6.     Pope Benedict may follow the pattern of previously resigned popes and spend the rest of his days in a monastery.

7.     The fact that Pope Benedict chose to do this now, just before Lent begins, so that his resignation takes place in two weeks and we should have a new pope before Easter, means that his deterioration of health is serious.

8.     The Pope is 85 years old, and thanks to advancing medical technology means increasingly long lifespans with a longer period of frail health. It is not easy to be 85 or 90 or 95 and feel confident steering the ship of Peter in today’s world.

9.     I pray that the rest of the world will accept his decision and respect him. So often will the media and pop culture today (run by the Devil) will serve to rebuke him and take advantage of poking fun of the Church in this time of finding a new Pope.

Let us pray for our dear Holy Father and for God’s guidance on the conclave who will elect our new Pope.

Quid est veritas?

It was a long time ago when I first came into my parents bedroom and asked my Dad, "When did God make the dinosaurs?" My Dad answered me by telling me to go get my Bible and we would find out. Yet no where in Genesis does it tell how God made the Earth, then the dinosaurs, then destroyed them all with an asteroid and then made us... or at least made the apes that became us. It didn't make sense. According to the Bible, the Earth was made in 7 days and there was no talk of a prehistoric time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. In fact it seemed to me that man had ruled the Earth from the beginning?

As time moved on I basically came to this conclusion after being taught in school about evolution and everything, that it all went hand in hand with the story of creation. When the "big bang" happened, that was God saying, "Let there be light!" Yet still some parts of evolution didn't fit with the whole story of creation? I mean... what about apes becoming cavemen? What about dinosaurs... and where exactly did this terrible asteroid hit the Earth? Can we go see tours of it today? Do they have a gift shop?

Something still wasn't making sense to me. If God made the Earth, and Evolution happened all at the same time... then someone forgot to write about that in the Bible. And for a long time that's what I began to believe. And if you would have asked me I would have told you back then that the stories of the Bible in Genesis and even the story of Noah was fiction. Fictional stories made up by the early Hebrews who wrote the Old Testament to give a primitive explanation as to how our God made us all. And due to the times, and the lack of scientific knowledge... the whole creation story was more of a summarized version of what we know now about evolution.

WHAT? What was I thinking?? I was beginning to sound like Martin Luther! "Since this part of the Bible doesn't go with my way of thinking... let's take it out!" AHHH!!! No, no, no... this can't be the answer! This is not the truth! So then... what is? Was there really once an Adam and Eve?? As I soon found out, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Adam and Eve were real in respect to the fact that Jesus is the New Adam and the Blessed Virgin Mary is the New Eve! Whoa... this really messes things up for evolution! In fact, even according to science as I soon learned, all of our DNA can all be traced back to 2 people who lived in Africa. Did anyone know this? Why was I not informed about this? They did exist!! And what about Noah and the flood? Well all over the world there have been searches for Noah's Ark, and there are many claims as to where it is... but nothing proven yet, as far as I know. But there is one thing that is interesting... certain fossils of fish and other sea creatures have been found on the tops of mountains. MOUNTAINS?? You mean those big tall hills that are way WAY above sea level??? How did fish get up there?? Maybe there was a flood? And maybe the great flood was caused by the contents separating across the Earth!?

"Well by-George, I think he's got it!"

Okay, so no apes, no asteroids... and all fossils were formed by the great flood? Well then what about my first question... where did the dinosaurs come from? I mean, you go to a museum and they have all their bones there. And there are paleontologists all over the world finding these creatures! So when did God make them... or have I totally lost it and really the first explanation of evolution really defines everything we need to know?

I dunno, maybe I am crazy! Maybe these are just stories that the Hebrews wrote to show us the great power of God. Even Jesus told us parables on how to love our neighbor? I mean... come on, we even have a St. George who battled a dragon in the middle ages... there's no such thing as dragons... right?

I was soon answered this question when I was told that there are many saints that after Vatican II were believed to be made up. Even churches that had these saint names were even renamed, like St. Philomena's here in Omaha is now St. Francis Cabrini. What's going on here? Were there actually some saints that were made up?

Um... no! Of course not, every saint known to man had to be canonized by the Catholic Church, which has always been a long process that is based on the miracles that occur after the holy person has died. So then what about St. George and his dragon... was that just made up, even though there was a St. George? When I later posed this question to my Pastor, he responded by telling me... "Well Dan, there is some evidence out there that suggests that there were dragons at that time."

Evidence? What evidence?? I wanna see!!! Sure enough there is a bunch of evidence on this. Just do a search on "Dinosaurs or Dragons" on Google and there is a bunch of information on this! A lot of information that suggests that dinosaurs and dragons are one and the same. In fact it was Sir Richard Owen of England who came up with the name "dinosaur" in 1841. Before that, all big lizard creatures were called dragons. And if we begin to research this we find that there are stories of dragons all over the world. And in every part of the world, the dragon is described in the same way. In fact even the Chinese calendar includes the year of the dragon as a equal animal to all the other animals in the calendar. Also as I discovered, there are artifacts all over the world depicting dinosaurs. For example: deep in the jungles of Cambodia are ornate temples and palaces from the Khmer civilization. One such temple, Ta Prohm abounds with stone statues and reliefs. Almost every square inch of the gray sandstone is covered with ornate, detailed carvings. These depict familiar animals like monkeys, deer, water buffalo, parrots, and lizards. However, one column contains an intricate carving of a stegosaur-like creature. But how could artisans decorating an 800 year old Buddhist temple know what a dinosaur looked like? Western science only began assembling dinosaurs skeletons in the past two centuries. They had to have seen it! Suddenly St. George's dragon was beginning to sound more and more like a dinosaur than a mythological dragon!

In discovering this, I was beginning to see that there was definitely something going on here. Somebody was trying to make us all believe something about our history in this world, and that somebody was lying... BIG TIME!! But who? What?

Enter stage left: Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution!

It's thanks to Charles Darwin and his Theory of Evolution that scientists have pushed this radical idea that we all came about in this way. The only problem is that any scientist who believes these theories, can't prove what came before... what made the single cell organism that started the seed of life. And if you watch Ben Stein's movie "Expelled" you will see what damage they are truly causing in this world. And what more damage it could cause and even has caused to this world. The idea that evolution is true and that our only purpose in life is to live and die and that natural selection helps to keep the balance of things, opens up the doors to things such as eugenics, abortion, euthanasia, contraception and etc. Ideas that were once imposed by such governments like Nazi Germany. Ideas that pushed out things like religion and belief in God.

Quid est veritas? (What is truth?) Be careful who you ask... because according to Our Lord Jesus, "Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice." John 18:37 Therefore I would trust my Bible over any atheist scientist who is ignoring certain questions that have great validity to their query!

I would love to discuss this topic more with anyone! It's a topic that has truly fascinated me lately! And if you have a chance I recommend you check out the movies "Expelled" by Ben Stine and also "Dragons or Dinosaurs". You will learn a lot!

http://www.amazon.com/Expelled-Intelligence-Allowed-Ben-Stein/dp/B001BYLFFS
http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Or-Dinosaurs-Creation-Evolution/dp/B0033HKDX6

Welcome!

Today I am launching "The Catholic Vita" blog, which is a site for me to discuss Catholic apologetics, news and other topics on the faith. I hope you all will enjoy it, and be informed. This is also a spiritual journal for me as I go about my spiritual journey in life.

Along my life I have learned many fun and fascinating things about our Catholic faith and this world that we live in, and the more I learn, the more I want to share with others. The truth can not be hidden! And beauty and richness of the Catholic faith is addicting! I love being a Catholic and I love Our Lord Jesus!! And this is my way of showing my love for Him and His bride the Church.

God love you all!
Dan