The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI came as quite a shock this week. He is nearing his 86^th birthday and has come to the realization that he can no longer physically meet the demands of being the head of the Catholic Church. One thing that has not been widely reported was the fact that the Pope made this decision after he “repeatedly examined my conscience before God”. This is a fact that is lost on the media since there is little understanding that Christians live their lives in accordance to the will of God. It is not our decisions that matter, but the clear discernment of determining if our actions are in following God’s will.

Immediately after the announcement, the secular media began to evaluate Pope Benedict XVI. Apparently, having no knowledge of the duties or responsibilities of the papal office or even a basic knowledge of the Catholic faith is not an impediment to judging how well someone has done his duty. Pope Benedict XVI has been widely criticized as being too traditional and conservative. The hope is that the election of the new successor will be someone who can bring the Catholic Church up to the modern era. In other words, they want someone who will condone the current moral behaviors of the time.

This is grossly wrong on several levels. First of all, the Church is neither liberal nor conservative. It is neither traditional nor modern. The Church is about the Truth. It is not the truth as we understand it with our limited intellect. It is not the truth of the day. Societies have gone through countless changes in the last two thousand years. I thank God that the Church has not conformed itself to whatever the truth was proclaimed at any particular time in history. The Truth of the Catholic Church is about the Truth of Christ. Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:5) That is the unchanging Truth I want to follow. What levels of pride can there exist in modern man who believes he knows more than God?

That brings about the second point. All sin originated from the fall of Adam and Eve. The root of that sin was pride. The evil one appeared not as an aggressor to be feared. He gained the trust of Eve by acting as a friend. He acted as someone out for her own best interest. He tricked her with his words of assurance, “You certainly will not die.” (Gen 3:4)  It’s the same message given today that says to not worry about what you are doing. You need to do what makes you happy, to each their own, don’t judge others, etc. You will not be condemned. They want everyone to believe that there isn’t a God and even if there is, everyone will meet in heaven anyway. The popular media want a pope who will condone all behavior on the basis that it must be ok if lots of people are doing it.

The duties of the Pope include the responsibility to preserve and defend the Truths of the Catholic Church that was begun by Christ. He is not at liberty to change anything according to his own judgment. He is bound to speak as the Vicar of Christ leading the Church. When I go into a Catholic Church I know that it is the Church that has been preserved since the time of Christ. It is one of the reasons why it is so easy to believe in the Catholic Church. We have that assurance that the Truth is being preserved. It is not being twisted or perverted into the beliefs of any individual.

At the Last Supper, Christ was explaining to the Apostles that he was going to return to the Father and he assured them they would not be left alone to their own sinfulness and weaknesses. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains in you, and will be in you.” John 14:16-17

The only thing that matters in the election of the next pope is that the Cardinals follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth and select the man whom God has chosen to lead His Church on earth.

Before I begin I want to go on record as saying this blog is not meant to be judgmental of anyone. Only God alone knows our heart and our intentions. I write this as a sinner who is seeking the truth and hoping to grow in understanding.

As I see it either one believes the Bible is the Word of God or does not. It is not possible to shop around for convenient phrases or quotes that fit our lifestyle and ignore those that do not. As any Bible scholar will tell you, the Bible does need to be interpreted properly. Everything is not taken at face value as we need to know the culture, geography and customs of the time. Bible scholars have continued over the course of centuries learning about the time the Bible was written and understanding the languages in which it was written. I personally do not believe my limited knowledge of history, languages and theology would qualify me in any way to interpret the depths of the Bible. That is why I rely on proven sources and totally rely on the magisterium of the Church and the Vicar of Christ, the Pope. They are entrusted to preserve and protect the Tradition and Truths of the Church.

The question of same-sex marriage is a topic that is being considered in many states. If the current trend is to continue it won’t be long before it becomes the law of the land.

What does the Bible say about same-sex relationships?

1 Cor. 6:9-10, Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Rom. 1:26-28, Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.

Obviously, all of the above mentioned behaviors are prohibited in the New Testament. They are describing specific behavior. They are not being used as a parable. So, a believer of the Bible would define homosexuality as well as heterosexuality outside of marriage as sinful. It is no more a fear of homosexuality, (homophobe) than it is a fear of heterosexuality. It is the behavior of an individual that is sinful not a physical attribute. Behavior has the component of choice; a person can choose to act or not act according to their desires. There lies the difference.

Eph 5:31“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.”

The Bible is clear on how we should behave and that is always in the form of charity. Love is a sacrificial act. We do not seek to receive but to give love.

Religious freedom is threatened when belief in the teachings of the Bible are defined as unlawful by the government. This trend is dangerous to Christians of all denominations. The freedom to disagree will become a crime and all Christians and Christian organizations will be required by law to uphold the laws that directly oppose their beliefs. There will be a time when not just the Church and private corporations will have stand up for their beliefs, but all individuals will have to make a decision to stand and suffer the consequences or give in and deny their faith.

The country is struggling with the terrible tragedy that has taken place in Newtown, Connecticut. It is an unthinkable violence to shoot small children. No one can understand senseless killing when there is no sense to an act.

Some have asked, “Where is God?” God is still with us. He is loving us and leading us toward His perfect love and mercy. He is always calling us back to Him and waiting for our repentance with His endless mercy. God gave us free will and in this case, evil was chosen over good.

The fault lies in evil and the evil one. Our culture has become one of relative morality, a lack of purpose besides our own happiness and a sense of loss of the eternal. There is no sense of sin or personal responsibility for anything. Through young people’s early overexposure to violent and sexually explicit movies and video games in addition to open access to the internet they have become de-sensitized to others’ pain or feelings. Many troubled young people do not have a sense of hope or empathy.

The only thing we can know is that evil was present at that moment. A young man, whether hindered through mental illness, disability or despair did an unspeakable act. Twenty-six people lost their lives.

Our reassurance is that good will triumph. The final chapter has been written. On the other hand we have to remember that there is a battle for souls. God will triumph but how many souls will be lost in the battle? We have to fight to save as many souls as we can. Every soul counts.

What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.  Mt 18:12-14