Merry Christmas!!!
This year offered many writing opportunities for Catholic bloggers. I list below some of my favorites. If you have an article not listed below, please put it in the comment section.
January
To start off the new year, I wrote about sola scriptura, synodality, Catholics and the common good, the First Crusades, Catholics within the social order, the wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI, and whether or not Catholics should vote Republican. Furthermore, foreshadowing the current confusion regarding Catholics and sexual sin, I wrote about the “pastoral approach.”
Of note:
God’s Message In An Unbreakable Bottle: An Infallible Church
The nature and importance of God’s message required a means to communicate it reliably. Jesus established a Church and gave this Church the ability to communicate this message infallibly over time. The alternative places all Christians throughout history in eternal danger. Therefore, given the stakes, God did the wisest thing and sent His message in an unbreakable bottle.
Catholics: Keep Your Opinions To Yourselves And Out Of The Social Order
The common good requires the public dimension of religion. Western civilization, based in Catholicism, built our modern culture, culture that must value the dignity of the human person. The removal or segregation of religion to merely religious spaces place this value in jeopardy and contributes to social disharmony.
February
A short month, in February I offered my reflections on unfettered empathy, the light offered by the diocese of Des Moines, nuanced thinking, atheistic explanations for the origins of the universe, contrition, called for Lenten prayer requests, and 4 ways the Catholic Church stands as a contradiction to the world.
Of note:
Beware This Type Of Nuanced Thinking
A nuanced love means to welcome all in, regardless of their sin, and leave them wallowing in their sin. “Does the Church actually teach x as sin?” And if so, is not the “pastoral approach,” the loving approach, to “welcome” and “listen,” not judge? Did not Jesus love the sinner? True, Jesus ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. He met people in their lived experiences. Jesus also called these same people to conversion. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), not accompany sinners on their way to hell.
When Is Empathy Unhealthy? A Critique Of Unfettered Empathy
No responsible doctor places the feelings of their patients over the patient’s overall health. Regardless of ailment, a doctor must do their best to heal the patient and do no harm. The same applies on a spiritual level and the effect sin has on a person’s soul. Likewise, no responsible priest, bishop, archbishop, or cardinal places the feelings of sinners over the sinner’s overall spiritual health. Regardless of sin, priests, bishops, archbishops, and cardinals must do their best to spiritually heal the sinner and do no harm. Those who place the feeling of sinners over their overall spiritual health risk that sinner’s soul and possibly their own.
March
Moreover, as a longer month, March offerings also increased. During March, I welcomed a guest writer, mused about unforgiven sin, how Protestants fail to escape theological error, highlighted 5 American bishops, warned my readers about the German Synodal Way, looked afresh at the Good Samaritan, and appealed to Pope Francis on the anniversary of this pontificate.
Of note:
What Is The Only Unforgiven Sin?
Furthermore, while we may deceive ourselves in this life, eventually, clarity comes in the form of our final judgement. At our final judgement, all darkness scatters and exposes all truth in the light of Christ, as “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” What we truly loved and valued becomes clear. Our final judgement shows if we loved our sin (darkness) more than God (light). It shows if we loved our sin more than ourselves. Therefore, we ultimately choose to suffer eternally because we inflicted this blindness to sin ourselves.
A Good Samaritan Does Not Abandon Those Who Suffer In Sin
…a Good Samaritan tends wounds caused by sin. By calling the sinner to repentance and forgiveness in Christ, they allow for true healing of the Healer through the sacraments. To leave a person to their sin does that person no good but continued harm. Therefore, let us all be truly Good Samaritans that do not leave those wounded by sin to rot on the side of the road. Let’s reach out and help.
April
I started off April with an Easter reflection. I also wrote about who we serve in our daily lives, the dangers of the false Therapeutic Christ, the 3 things Catholic authority is NOT, and why some people choose hell.
Of note:
…the therapeutic Christ cannot heal. He offers poison that tastes and smells like compassion. Instead of saying “go, sin no more,” this Christ says, “go, there is no more sin.”
Therefore, if someone does not desire to live in “the Father’s house,” God honors that choice. In my opinion, if this same person changed their mind, God would welcome them. The problem is that those in hell refuse to change their minds. They want to stay in hell and God gives them what they want.
May
As Spring brought forth flowers and sunshine, I answered the question as to why Catholics leave Jesus on the Cross in our Churches. I also tackled unfettered kindness, what yields when political and religious thought conflict, 5 reasons Christians should become Catholic, and promoted the newly minted Fidelity Month.
Of note:
Simply put, unfettered kindness is when one nicely and politely ignores and enables unhealthy and immature behavior in others, especially when the others are in close friendship and familial relationships. Unfettered kindness often takes the mantra of “who am I to judge?” to extremes. To not “judge” is nice and polite but becomes harmful when one sees destructive behavior and does nothing, or even encourages it.
What Yields When Political And Religious Thought Converge And Conflict?
Faith transforms our lives. It changes the way we look at ourselves and “the world around us.” To express a political will contrary to one’s beliefs is by definition hypocrisy. If Catholics REALLY believe the Church teaches the truth about reality, they must engage the world accordingly.
June
I end Part 1 of a Year in Review with June. This month witnessed the death of my father. Honestly, June 2023 stands out as the most exhausting month of my life. My father fell, I went to Iowa to move him to Texas, and he passed two weeks after arriving in our home. Amongst all this, I only managed two articles: one on Catholic integralism and the other in memory of my late father.
Of note:
Two Lessons Learned From Catholic Integralism
Catholic integralists, in an extreme way, reflect a logical outcome of taking Catholic teaching seriously. If God exists and if Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Divine Trinity, established the Church, thereby setting up the means by which humans find their ultimate meaning and fulfillment, then such truth has real world consequences.
A Reflection On Suffering And End Of Life Grace: In Memory Of My Father
When seen through the eyes of faith, my father’s last few weeks of life were marked by a very uncommon grace. I hope others are granted the same gift I was when their loved ones pass on to eternity. Amen.
Final Thoughts…
Finally, allow me again to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! To all my readers and frequent commentators, thank you! Thank you for all the support, especially when my father passed away. In our current polarized world, I hope those who disagree find this blog and the comment section a place for lively, yet respectful, dialogue.
God bless us, everyone!
Thank you!
Read The Latin Right’s writing here.
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