Satanists and Catholics met in what one article described as a “bullhorn-powered war of words” at the Kansas State Capitol last weekend. It ended with the lead satanist punching a Catholic and getting himself arrested.
The fracas was the culmination of weeks of back and forth between the governing officials of the state, the Catholic archdiocese and the leaders of The Satanic Grotto.
Evidently, The Grotto had obtained a permit to perform a “religious exercise” at the Kansas state capitol. After they got the permit, they announced that they intended to perform a “black mass” with a “consecrated” Host and Precious Blood.
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City sued The Satanic Grotto, alleging that they had obtained the consecrated Host and Blood by illicit means. The lawsuit named The Satanic Grotto and two of its leaders, Michael Steward and Travis Roberts.
From the Kansas City Star:
“In Catholic tradition, hosts and wine that have been blessed by a priest become “Consecrated Hosts and Wine are in fact the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ,” Naumann’s filing states.
He alleges that the Eucharist could only have been obtained through illicit means — “theft, fraud, deception, wrongful taking, or other form of misappropriation.”
After a bit of legal back and forth in which the satanists first claimed they bought the “host” from “Pope Amazon,” they admitted that neither the bread nor the wine was consecrated. They had lied. Then they lied about their lie. Finally, when they were faced with the force of law, they admitted they were lying.
Meanwhile, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued an order that the “black mass” could not be held inside the capitol building. That should have ended things. But of course, it didn’t.
The satanists were getting a lot of attention, which gave them far more credibility than they deserved, which was exactly what they were after. So they announced they would go ahead with their “black mass,” sans host.
The bishops of Kansas very sensibly tried to keep the whole thing from turning into a spectacle which could only serve to heighten the profile of satanism. They put out a directive saying that parishes would offer mass at the time of this “black mass.” They encouraged faithful Catholics to attend these masses and pray for the conversion of the satanists.
That’s the smart way to handle these things. It’s also the effective way. Satan isn’t scared of you and me. He can and will use us if we insist on playing with him. But he has been defeated by Jesus Christ.
But you can’t fix stupid. And you can’t stop performative Christians from performing.
I would guess that the satanists were afraid their play for big news coverage and maybe even a test court case was going down the tubes. So they announced that they would defy the governor and take their black mass inside the capitol, anyway.
They showed up at the capitol as planned. But before they took their extravaganza inside the capitol building, there were dueling demonstrations.
On the day of the “black mass” two crowds of demonstrators showed up and hollered insults at one another from behind barricades that were designed to separate them. Evidently, some of the Catholic demonstrators even brought their children to this satanic display.
Then, everybody went inside for the “black mass.” That ended with the head satanist punching a Catholic and getting arrested.
That leads me to the reason I’m writing about this. As nearly as I can tell, the whole business of satanic churches was cooked up by a bunch aggressive atheists. I think they did it to use the satanic “churches” as a means to attack the First Amendment protections that real religious groups enjoy in this country.
These satanic “churches” don’t have any gravitas of their own. After all, what kind of fool wants to go to hell?
Satanists rely on outraged Christians to give them credibility. They want to be attacked. They need to be attacked to be taken seriously.
When they announce (as they often do) that they have a “consecrated” host and they are going to “sacrifice” it in a “black mass,” they are trying to bait the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church is the real deal, and everybody knows it. The satanists want the credibility that only a big overreaction by the Catholic Church can give them.
Archbishop Naumann was smart. He didn’t take the bait. He stopped the lies these satanists were putting out about using the consecrated Body and Blood of Our Lord for their ritual.
Then, he and his fellow bishops did their best to direct faithful Catholics toward Jesus and away from satan. They directed them to real masses with the real Eucharist. They directed their followers to pray for the conversion of the satanists, which, in case you don’t get it, is asking them to pray for satan to be driven out of these lost people.
But you can’t fix stupid. And anybody who would go to a satanic ritual against the specific advice of their bishop is stupid. Someone who would take their child to a satanic ritual is really stupid.
You also can’t fix politicians and right wing rabble rousers who are in it for the attention and the money. I’m on the mailing list of one of the groups that showed up for this spectacle.
They constantly send emails full of pretend outrage about some supposedly horrible sin or other and then use that pretend outrage as a pretext to ask for $$$. They’re grifters with a religious shtick. Their organization exists to get you worked up and mad and then take your money. I expect to get a fund raising mailing from them about this mass within a day or so.
The bottom line here is that the people who came to demonstrate against this “mass,” including the politicians, the professional right wing rabble rousers, the idiots who bought their children and all the rest of them, gave the satanists exactly what they wanted. They gave them credibility they could not have gotten any other way.
They also did nothing to weaken satan. In fact, they made the satanic influence in their community much stronger.
I do not understand the hubris and the stupidity of people who think they can or that they should try to take on satan on their own. That. Is. Nuts.
The Catholic Church has a lot of authority over satan. That authority is not intrinsic in the person of the bishop. It comes from Jesus Christ.
Jesus defeated satan 2,000 years ago on Calvary.
What we are dealing with now are the final battles with an already defeated foe. But that is not to say that you or I are fit for these battles on our own. We are not.
If my bishop told me to go to mass and pray for the conversion of the satanists while a satanic black mass was taking place, I would go to mass and pray for the conversion of the satanists. I wouldn’t even consider doing anything else.
The Catholic bishops of Kansas gave perfect leadership to their flocks in this matter. They told them to wrap themselves in Jesus and rely on Him to protect them from evil. They told them to pray for the satanists’ conversion.
My friends, that is what will stop satan.
You can’t defeat the devil with the devil’s weapons. You don’t have to defeat him at all.
Jesus has already defeated satan. All you or I need to do is clothe ourselves in that victory. If your heart belongs to Jesus, satan will run away from you. But you should not — ever — take it on yourself and your own authority to address a satanic influence on your own. That is the business of Christ, acting through His Church.
Message from Archbishop Naumann to Kansas Catholics:
The Catholic Church’s response to this mockery and blasphemy of what we hold sacred is to encourage Catholics and all Christians to pray. Pray for God’s mercy for those who blaspheme God. I encourage people to pray that God will touch this poor man’s heart to understand that Jesus gave his life on Calvary for him.
On March 25, the solemnity of the Annunciation, at Holy Spirit Parish in Overland Park, during a previously scheduled Mass praying for Our Lord’s blessing upon pregnant couples and their unborn children, I will reconsecrate the archdiocese to Jesus Christ through the intercession of his mother Mary. All are invited to come and pray. I also urge all Catholics to consecrate or reconsecrate yourselves to Jesus through Mary.
On March 28, I invite Catholics and other Christians to come to Assumption Church in Topeka at 11 a.m. for a Holy Hour of prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament followed by a noon Mass. This is an authentic Mass during which we praise and honor Jesus for giving his life on Calvary for us.
During this time, we will pray for God to bless those who blaspheme him and who mock those who believe in Jesus Christ. After all, on Calvary, Jesus implored his heavenly Father to forgive those who crucified him because they did know not what they were doing.
Note: Archbishop Naumann made a statement that the Governor of Kansas has the power to limit the Constitutional right to free speech of the satanists. That is not true.
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