Pray before voting

So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
 -- Matthew 13:49-50

In this election there is one candidate which faithful Catholics cannot under any circumstances support. The Church declares abortion and homosexual acts as intrinsically evil -- there are no circumstances under which such acts can be declared as good. Barack Obama has thrown the full support of his party and his presidency to promote these evil acts. Whatever other good things he may support are negated by this.

If we faithful Christians want the Democratic Party to abandon these shameful principals then we must vote them out of power and let them know that they will never have our support as long as they continue to promote this secular humanist agenda.

Bishop Paprocki makes this very clear in the video below. If only all the bishops in our country were as loyal to the teachings of the Church as he is. Then we would have a very different Catholic Church in America and that would change the very nature of American society.



And as the Bishop resolutely declares, to vote for Obama is to put your own immortal soul in danger.

Pray for our country, pray for those who will be voting in the elections in November, pray for government leaders, pray for Church leaders. There is much praying to be done before voting. And after the elections no matter what the outcome, we must continue praying.

Pray the Rosary every day. The Blessed Virgin Mary has promised at Fatima that Her Immaculate Heart will triumph in the end.

Ask God to guide you and determine to abandon your will to HIS. Make sacrifices and offer them to Our Lord Jesus and to the souls of the living and the deceased, especially those who have been so diabolically deceived by the secular humanist agenda over the past few generations.

At Fatima, the children -- Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta -- saw a terrifying vision of Hell. It changed their lives. Blessed Jacinta often said that if only sinners could see Hell as they had that they would change their lives and give up the evil practices that so offend God.

Jacinta would often sit on the ground or on a rock, and she would say, growing pensive: “Oh, hell, hell! How sorry I am for the souls that go to hell! And the people who are there, being burned alive, like wood in a fire!” And she would kneel down, half trembling, with her hands joined, to recite the prayer Our Lady had taught us: “O my Jesus, forgive us, deliver us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need”… And Jacinta would remain kneeling for a long time, repeating the same prayer.
 -- From Sister Lucia's diaries

As a society we have lost our belief in God's Final Judgement and in the damnation of lost souls to Hell. This has immediate consequences to how we shape our society here on earth and eternal consequences for our immortal souls.

Pray for the children growing up in this corrupt society. Pray for the adults who have allowed this to happen.

The Fatima prayer:
"O my Jesus forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell; lead all souls to Heaven -- especially those in most need of Thy Mercy."

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From Sister Lucia's diaries:

She opened Her hands once more, as She had done the two previous months. The rays appeared to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls. The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms. They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke. Now they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fright (it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me).

The demons were distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, Who at the first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that we would have died of terror and fear.

We then looked up at Our Lady, who said to us so kindly and so sadly: “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.”

Saints wanted -- Saints needed

"For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed... And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. ... he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree."
 -- Luke 1:48,50,52

Today I am inspired by the words of Michael Voris -- and of course Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady the Blessed Virgin Mary. I invite you to watch the latest ChurchMilitant video and contemplate what Michael V. has to say.



I want to go even farther than Michael V. I want to suggest to you that what we need is a whole saintly generation. We cannot depend on a handful of saintly people to turn this world around from the immoral path that it has chosen. Not even hundreds of thousands of saints could accomplish this task. It will take all of us praying and working in "the field" to make any significant impact.

We are a generation that must choose between martyrdom and perdition. Do you know what perdition is? Do you remember? Were you ever taught the meaning of this word?

Perdition -- (in Christian theology) a state of eternal punishment and damnation into which a sinful and unpenitent person passes after death.

In other words we can either choose the path to Heaven through martyrdom or the path that leads to Hell. These are the choices we are faced with.

I don't mean martyrdom in the sense of dying for the faith -- although it may come to that -- but a sort of "white martyrdom" in which we are constantly subject to persecution and ridicule for practicing our faith in all its fullness. What a glorious time to be alive! Any saint from the past would revel at the opportunity to face the slings and arrows that the evil one casts at Christians living in the modern world.

We need to be burning with the fire of the Holy Spirit so that we can be the spark -- the flame -- that enkindles those around us. Every day must be Pentecost. We must let the light of Christ be our guide; we must surrender totally and completely to His will. Ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to show you the way. Send her your prayers and petitions.

The world will not change because of us, but because of Christ acting through us. It will change as much because of our prayers as our actions and words. It will change to the degree that we have faith in God.

The United States has an enormous national debt which it will one day have to repay. In addition it has an enormous "sin debt". We can either repay that debt which will be like living in the days of Noah and the flood or we can ask Jesus Christ for forgiveness -- and He will wipe away our debt and make us whole again.

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"Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven -- especially those in most need of Thy Mercy."

This is the Fatima Prayer. Tomorrow, September 13, is the anniversary of the Blessed Virgin Mary's second to last appearance in Portugal to the three children -- Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta -- in 1917.

From the Memoirs of Sister Lucia:

As the hour approached, I set out with Jacinta and Francisco, but owing to the crowds around us we could only advance with difficulty. The roads were packed with people, and everyone wanted to see us and speak to us. There was no human respect whatsoever. Simple folk, and even ladies and gentlemen, struggled to break through the crowd that pressed around us. No sooner had they reached us than they threw themselves on their knees before us, begging us to place their petitions before Our Lady. Others who could not get close to us shouted from a distance:

“For the love of God, ask Our Lady to cure my son who is a cripple!” Yet another cried out: “And to cure mine who is blind!… To cure mine who is deaf!… To bring back my husband, my son, who has gone to the war!… To convert a sinner!… To give me back my health as I have tuberculosis!” and so on.

All the afflictions of poor humanity were assembled there. Some climbed up to the tops of trees and walls to see us go by, and shouted down to us. Saying yes to some, giving a hand to others and helping them from the dusty ground, we managed to move forward, thanks to some gentlemen who went ahead and opened a passage for us through the multitude.

...If these people so humbled themselves before three poor children, just because they were mercifully granted the grace to speak to the Mother of God, what would they not do if they saw Our Lord Himself in person before them?

At last, we arrived at the Cova da Iria, and on reaching the holmoak we began to say the Rosary with the people. Shortly afterwards, we saw the flash of light, and then Our Lady appeared on the holmoak.

“Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war. In October Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Dolors and Our Lady of Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices. He does not want you to sleep with the rope on, but only to wear it during the daytime.”

“I was told to ask you many things, the cure of some sick people, of a deaf-mute…”

“Yes, I will cure some, but not others. In October I will perform a miracle so that all may believe.”

Then Our Lady began to rise as usual, and disappeared.

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Today, September 12,  is the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary.

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The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Holy Mary,
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the Sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs,
Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen of Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen of Peace.

... pray for us.

Trapped!

Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst They said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?"

This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

 - John 8:4-12

Satan must have overheard when Jesus Christ said to St. Peter, "I shall make you fishers of men."

But Satan's idea of fishing is to set a trap with bait and wait for the fish to be attracted by the tempting lure.

A fish trap is a curious thing. The fish swim in, but cannot find their way out. The opening that they came through does not snap shut behind them. It remains open. But the fish lack the intelligence to realize just how easy it is to escape. They are driven by instinct and their instinct fails them in this case.

You would think that we humans are much more intelligent than fish, but are we?

The greatest addiction that has ever taken hold of mankind is not drugs, alcohol or tobacco. It is sexual addiction.

We are attracted by the lure of romanticism. In the words of Joni Mitchell, love is "so sweet". We enter through the small opening, not realizing what lies in store for us. We ignore the teachings of the Church about chastity. Who needs chastity? Chastity is a prison, while romantic love is liberating. And through our desire to be free we are enslaved.

We partake in the orgiastic rituals and become marked by the stain of the deadly sin of lust. We become initialized and spend the rest of our lives trapped in one way or another in the slow motion orgy which marks modern man's sexual life. Crawling from one sexual partner to the next -- always searching for something more; never fully satisfied.

How easy it should be to turn around and swim out of the trap, but our base instincts will not allow us to.

If only there was a light in the darkness that could show us the way out.

Christ is the light of the world. He illuminates us from within and shows us the way to true freedom.

It is only through Christ that we can find true Love.

Pray for our brothers and sisters who are trapped in the darkness. Pray for your fellow Christians so that they can avoid the temptations which have blinded so many, and can grow in the love of Jesus Christ.

The scribes and the Pharisees were so blinded by their interpretation of the law of God that they failed to see the Truth that was right before them

"And He sat down and taught them."

He did not stand up on a high place, but humbly sat down among them while writing with his finger on the ground.

Who is this man? It would be easy to overlook and ignore him.

Later in John Chapter 8 He declares, "Every one who commits sin is a slave to sin." And he says, "The truth will make you free."

And a little while later He says "If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?"

This is indeed the question that modern man must answer. We are indebted to the scribes and the Pharisees for challenging Christ and evoking these responses from Him. Like modern man, they thought they had all the answers.

Earlier we spoke of the deadly sin of lust; pride is another one of the seven deadly sins.

Lord, to whom shall we go?

Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him.
 - John 6:67-71

The more I come to know and love the Catholic Church, the more I become aware of the deep crisis that the Church is undergoing. Sometimes I am so offended by what I see going on in the Church that I want to turn away, but in the words of St. Peter, "Lord, where shall I go?"

I have come to an understanding that the Church -- like us -- has a body and a spirit. The body is imperfect and falls into temptation, but the spirit of the Church is the Holy Spirit itself. When the body allows itself to be guided by the Holy Spirit then the Church is a piece of Heaven here on Earth as Christ intended.

Thank God for the Pope who is doing everything humanly possible to guide the Church in the direction that God intends -- always with Divine assistance. Pray for the Pope.

The other day I was struck by some words from Pope Benedict about Judas. Perhaps I am reading too much into his words, but he seemed to have a message for those who dissent from Church teaching. Here are his words which are a reflection on the reaction of many of his disciples to Christ's teaching that He is the Bread of Life from John Chapter 6...

In the end, Jesus knew that even among the Twelve there was one who did not believe: Judas. Judas too could have left like the other disciples did; perhaps he should have left had he wanted to be honest. Instead he stayed with Jesus. He stayed not because of faith, not because of love, but with the secret plan to get back at the Master. Why? Because Judas felt that Jesus had betrayed him and he decided to betray Jesus in turn. Judas was a zealot and wanted a victorious Messiah who would lead a revolt against the Romans. Jesus frustrated these expectations. The problem is that Judas did not leave and his gravest fault was falsity, which is the sign of the devil. Because of this Jesus said to the Twelve: “One among you is a devil!” (John 6:70). Let us pray to the Virgin Mary, who helps us to believe in Jesus, as St. Peter did, to be ever more sincere with him and with everyone.

Is the Pope asking the dissenters to leave the Church? Could he possibly be comparing their acts of treason with the betrayal of Jesus Christ?

This Saturday morning I went to Mass. There was a guest priest. I knew right at the beginning that I was not going to care very much for the manner that this priest said Mass. He announced his entrance with the words "ding-a-ling".

Mass is a solemn sacrifice. It is the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the altar. We participate in that sacrifice and it culminates with us eating his body and drinking his blood. Christ, the Son of God, sacrificed himself to wash away our sins. He took all our sins upon Himself and suffered so that we might not suffer. It is not just the physical suffering that he underwent, but imagine the spiritual suffering of bearing the sins of the world. His Resurrection is the triumph of God over sin.

Christ is present at Mass in the Eucharist. The priest is himself an alter Cristo. This is a heavy burden which cannot be taken lightly. The Catholic Mass is unlike the worship services of Protestants. We carry on the tradition of the Jewish Temple as Christ commanded us to do. We do not go to be preached at like a bunch of college students in a lecture room. Mass is other-wordly. It puts us in direct contact with Christ.

Perhaps it was indicative that the priest forgot to say the Agnus Dei. Has he forgotten that Christ is the Lamb of God that is sacrificed for us to take away our sins?

When the time came, I did not go up to receive communion.

At the conclusion of Mass the priest made a comment that he hoped that sometime in the near future  women would be allowed to say Mass. I said out loud but in a low voice that I hoped that would never happen. The Pope has made it abundantly clear that to have women serving as priests is against Church teaching. Like Judas this priest has fallen into the trap of looking to the Church to satisfy his worldly ambitions.

So perhaps this priest should just leave the Church. If he were honest he would have to admit that at some point he stopped being a Catholic. How many more priests are there like him? How many nuns? How many lay people?

Ora et labora -- Pray and work

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

Labor Day certainly isn't a particularly Christian holiday. If anything it tends to make one think of socialism or even marxism.

One of the principal themes that has emerged from my writings in Public Vigil is the Kulturkampf or culture war between secular humanism and the Church. One day I plan on writing an article about the original Kulturkampf led by Chancellor Bismarck of Germany against the Catholic Church. This was a milestone in modern history for secular humanism. It is my belief that the seeds of the Jewish persecution led by the Nazis in the early 20th century were planted during the persecution of Catholics in Germany in the late 19th century. But that is a topic for another day.

The question I want to raise is whether Labor Day is another manifestation of secular humanism, and I think the answer is that it can be certainly viewed that way. Labor Day is a glorification of the worker. From a Christian perspective whenever man is glorified over God this always leads to bad consequences -- bad fruit.

We have been taught and trained to view the world from a secular humanist perspective. But when we truly accept Christ as our master and Lord we find that the whole world appears differently. What before was "good" may now be another of the traps and snares of the devil. The philosophy of secular humanism is so deeply embedded in our culture that it has managed to redefine words such as "good" and "freedom". To escape from this secular humanist pit requires one to become the "new man" which St. Paul speaks of in his letter to the Ephesians. The "new man" accepts the will of God in his life. He accepts the yoke of Jesus. And he throws off the yoke of the "world". The man which has converted his life to Jesus undergoes a radical transformation as he is reborn through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.

This does not happen overnight. And just how it happens is a mystery of God. But it clearly happens and the world begins to appear in a totally different light. Priorities shift and in some cases become completely inverted. What was important before, now may have no importance at all. The most important thing becomes not this life, but the next. The eyes shift their gaze towards heaven. Hallelujah!

But I was talking about Labor Day. I was thinking about the passage where St. Paul says that those who do not work should not eat. (2 Thessalonian 3:10) This is a very famous passage and often quoted. It fits in well with the Protestant work ethic. But from what I now understand, St. Paul directs his comment to those who had come to believe that the coming of Christ's Kingdom was eminent.

Imagine that you are expecting that Christ will come again in all His Glory within your lifetime. Shouldn't you be doing everything you can to prepare for His coming? Shouldn't you be spending all your time in prayer rather than in mundane work?

I don't have to imagine the answer to those questions because it was not that long ago that I myself experienced a growing feeling that Christ's return was imminent. I felt no desire to work, but spent many hours in reflection. I wish I could say that I was constantly praying, but I did spend time reading the Bible and the writings of St. Teresa of Avila. And I grew much closer to God.

So I think that sometimes part of the transformation to the "new man" is this very clear awareness that Christ could return at any moment "like a thief in the night". Therefore we must be alway prepared like the wise virgins with their lamps full of oil. And in fact that day could be today or tomorrow or next week or next month or next year. But Jesus also tells us that no one knows the time, not even the angels. (See Mark Chapter 13.) Only God the Father knows the hour of the coming of the New Jerusalem. Hallelujah!

But St. Paul reminds us of the value of work, of labor. He himself insisted on working at his trade as a tentmaker so that he would not be a burden on the early Christian communities where he was staying.

So there is a proper Christian interpretation of the value of work. Jesus also reminds us of this in his parables. But all work ultimately must glorify God or it loses its meaning. And life itself loses its meaning.

This is the great failing of secular humanism. When viewed through its distorted lens, life has no meaning. If there is no God and no Heaven, then life has no purpose. When the Truth is lost, we become lost.

The latest manifestation of just how lost we have become is the push for "physician assisted suicide". This is another concept that would have been unspeakably absurd just a few short years ago and now has begun to gain public support.

It is another theme of Public Vigil that secular humanism grew out of the eugenics movement of the 19th century. So it should be no surprise when it returns to its eugenics roots through such evils as abortion of an unborn child as the best "choice" for a poor mother and "voluntary" suicide for the elderly. From a eugenics perspective the weak and sick are a burden on society, so they should be eliminated.

It is one of the great ironies of our times that secular humanism should claim to champion "human rights". How can this be when it does not recognize the sanctity of human life? Without God we are nothing.

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Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

For the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory are Yours. Now and forever. Amen.

I have been meditating on the meaning of the word "glory". What do you glorify in your life? Is it God or man?

We think that we do not worship idols like the people in the Old Testament and even the Greeks in the New Testament, but we have more than our share of idols in the "modern" world. Above all the idol that we worship is Man.

Man -> Humanism.

Think for example of the recent Olympics. This is a modern reenactment of an ancient pagan festival to glorify Man. Not that sports are bad. But without Christ at the center of our lives and at the center of our society and our culture, even the good things can turn to bad. Our talents and our efforts are wasted pursuing some elusive goal that in the end has no meaning.

With Christ in our lives even our pain and suffering and sorrow has meaning and leads us closer to God and eternal life. Amen. Hallelujah!

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Remember that tomorrow, Saturday, is the first Saturday of the month. Every Saturday is a special day that we remember the Blessed Virgin Mary, but the first Saturday has special significance because of the importance of going to Mass in accordance with the petition of Our Lady of Fatima.

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17 This then I say and testify in the Lord: That henceforward you walk not as also the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. 19 Who despairing, have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ; 21 If so be that you have heard him, and have been taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 To put off, according to former conversation, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desire of error. 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind: 24 And put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth.
 - Ephesians 4:17-24

Does prayer make a difference?

It is the only thing that makes a difference. Everything else we do to promote good is meaningless and fruitless without prayer. We must begin and end our days and all our activities with prayer.

Even if we were somehow able to solve the world's material problems -- hunger, poverty -- we would still be living in a world of evil without prayer. Take for example contraception and abortion as solutions for hunger and poverty. How can we say that we can feed the poor by killing millions of unborn? The evil that this promotes would rise up like a foul stench and choke every living thing. In fact this is already happening.

St. Teresa of Jesus writes about this in the story of her life. She says that she created her convents to fight the evil of the Protestant attack on the Church in the time of she was living. She says that a few faithful Catholics praying could do  more to stop this attack than armies or great wealth. Jesus tells us that faith can move mountains. We have the examples of the saints and the martyrs of the Church.

Pray, and ask God for forgiveness. We are not innocent. It is through our own fault that the world has become what it is.

We are living in a time when Christ is being constantly crucified. We need the faith of a Mary Magdalene to see through these desperate times to the Resurrection.

And if you find yourself crying as you pray, then that is a blessing. It is Christ pouring down holy water from Heaven on us.

Is it cool to be Catholic?

"Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths."
2 Timothy 4:2-4

Cool and Catholic do not combine. The definition of cool has a strong anti-Catholic component. Wherever you see cool, think secular humanism. Cool is a cultural expression of the philosophy of humanism, which is marketed to the young and the naive -- including many older people who should be wiser.

What is it to be cool? It is supposed to be cool to be different, but actually cool is about fitting into the popular culture -- which is a product of humanist influences.

Cool does not arise from the bottom up. It does not originate in the streets. It is manufactured by the powerful -- whether through marketing campaigns or through well-funded "community" organizations. Sometimes a trend will emerge from the streets and be assimilated by the mass media. But this is done very selectively.

Does a Catholic World Youth Day get promoted by the mass media, even when it attracts millions of young people from all over the world. Of course not. This is not cool.

Cool is about fitting in. It is all about peer pressure and belonging to a group. This is most important to young people who are searching for an identity. There are whole industries which are dedicated to exploiting innocent young people.

Cool is sexy and sexy is cool. Sex is the apple that is used to tempt young people -- and old people -- away from God. It is manipulated by the powerful to form the "traps and snares" of the evil one.

Sex is good when it is an expression of love within marriage. Love is good, because God created man and woman. The highest form of love is love of God. When we pray we are spending time with God and we deepen our relationship with Him. Why not pray a rosary with your potential future spouse rather than engaging in sex? Praying together is a powerful experience which creates a strong bond between two people and God. Is God part of your relationship or does he get cast aside?

Don't be cool, be Catholic. You will be happier. The pursuit of being cool ends in frustration, disappointment, disillusionment, despair, depression and even death. The pursuit of being Catholic ends in joy, serenity, true happiness, true peace, inner tranquility and eventually a seat beside the throne of God.

The saints never sought to be cool, you shouldn't either. Set your eyes on heaven, put your faith in Jesus Christ, love God with all your heart.

But my eyes are toward thee, O LORD God;
  in thee I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me,
  and from the snares of evildoers!
Let the wicked together fall into their own nets,
  while I escape.
Psalm 141:8-10