The Majesty of God
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5)
The opening sentences of St John’s Gospel, beautifully and simply reflect the glory and the majesty of God. God is eternal, God created everything, and there is nothing that exists that does not owe its existence to God and that does not depend on God for its continued existence. St John’s Gospel mirrors the opening passage of the book of Genesis.
The Creative Power of God
“In the beginning God created heaven, and earth. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters. And God said: Be light made. And light was made. And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:1-4)
Both passages speak of the creative power of God and both speak of light and of darkness. In Genesis God divides the light from the darkness, the light He calls ‘day’ and the darkness ‘night’. This division of light from dark has come to be used to symbolise the difference between good and evil. We speak of ‘the powers of darkness’ when we refer to the devil and his kingdom.
St John speaks of the light of God shining in the darkness and of the powerlessness of the darkness to either comprehend the light or, in other translations, the darkness has not overcome the light. In St John’s Gospel chapter twelve, Jesus tells us to walk in the light so that we may become children of the light.
“Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (John 12:35-36)
St Paul too speaks of Light and Darkness
St Paul also uses this imagery in his letters to the Ephesians and to the Thessalonians urging us to reprove those who walk in darkness and to stay awake so that we will not be overtaken by the darkness.
“Let no man deceive you with vain words. For because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. Walk then as children of the light. For the fruit of the light is in all goodness, and justice, and truth; Proving what is well pleasing to God: And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Ephesians 5:6-11)
“For yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord shall so come, as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, peace and security; then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. For all you are the children of light, and children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do; but let us watch, and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6)
Many Choose to Walk in Darkness
But we know that today many choose to walk in the darkness. In a way, this should not come as a surprise to us for when we look to our first parents, Adam and Eve, we see that even though they wanted for nothing, were not afflicted with original sin and had perfect integrity, they chose to abandon God and to follow the promptings of the devil. What did the devil offer to them that was so tempting?
“And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)
The Devil’s Temptation – You Shall be as Gods
The devil offered them the possibility to be as Gods. He offered them freedom from the one true God, the possibility to come out from under God’s controlling ‘yoke’, and he offered them the power to be able to control their own lives in whatever way they wanted. As Gods, they too would have the power to create and to make things in their own image and likeness and according to their own desires. The devil is a liar and a murderer from the beginning. Adam and Eve died, their son became a murderer, and the whole human race became slaves to sin. There is only one God.
In my last two articles I looked at the promotion of the LGBT agenda to the youth of the diocese of Kerry. This diocese has scheduled another two weekly meeting places promoting the LGBT agenda to Kerry young people in recent times. One in Killarney last November, for children as young as thirteen, and another in Castleisland this January. What a way to start the new year. The bishop of Kerry has decided to do nothing about it, despite the many people who have contacted him. Even as I write this article in January 2018, I have checked one of the Kerry diocesan youth Facebook pages, and they have posted an LGBT meeting advertisement for young people.
The Sin of Sodomy
St Peter Damian, in ‘The Book of Gomorrah’, describes the sin of sodomy thus.
“Certainly, this vice, which surpasses the savagery of all other vices, is to be compared to no other. For this vice is the death of bodies, the destruction of souls, pollutes the flesh, extinguishes the light of intellect, expels the Holy Spirit from the temple of the human heart, introduces the diabolical inciter of lust, throws into confusion, and removes the truth completely from the deceived mind.”
Today Man seeks to make of himself a false god
We live in very disturbing times where man seeks to make of himself a god. A false god who allows people to change sexes simply by thinking, believing and dressing as if they are of the opposite sex. A false god who can change and override the immutable laws of the One True Triune God and condone sexual activity between people of the same sex. A false god who decrees that certain members of the human race, may be killed if their little lives prove to be inconvenient or distressful for their mothers. A false god who allows those living in adulterous sexual relationships to receive absolution and Holy Communion without amending their lives and without ceasing their adultery. We are witnessing the exaltation of man as god where men proclaim falsehood as truth and ignore the absolute truths of our Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Kerry Diocese shows up the problem within the Church
The example of the Kerry diocese, shows us that this is a problem that has entered deep within the structures of the Catholic Church. Other ‘catholic’ organisations are also guilty of promoting the homosexual agenda. In 2014 the St Vincent de Paul society in Galway, donated €45,000 of a bequest they had received, towards the cost of establishing a centre for promoting the lesbian lifestyle. Last year the St Vincent de Paul society changed the name of their charity shops to ‘Vincent’s’. They have dropped any reference to Catholicism in their name and their logo now incorporates the homosexual rainbow flag as depicted in the photo that accompanies this article above.
This change did not come about by accident. Someone, somewhere within the St Vincent de Paul organisation, decided to drop the word ‘saint’ from the title of their charity shops and someone, somewhere, decided to subtly promote acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle by incorporating the ‘gay’ logo into the St Vincent de Paul charity shop’s logo.
The St Vincent de Paul society in Ireland is now, very subtly, giving a nod and a wink of support to those who promote the homosexual lifestyle. I had hoped to write about this before Christmas because Catholics should now be very wary of giving any of their money to the St Vincent de Paul society whilst this promotion of a lifestyle which is contrary to the laws of God continues. Catholics should also refrain from purchasing second hand items from these charity shops as well, and they should write to the society to inform them as to the reason why they will no longer support the society.
Some European Bishops openly Promote the Homosexual Lifestyle & Contraception
Other worrying developments within the hierarchical Catholic Church occurred recently in Germany and in Italy. In Germany, the vice president of the German bishop’s conference, Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, has called for a discussion of the possibility of giving a blessing to homosexual unions. In Italy, a recently appointed priest and moral theologian to the Pontifical Academy for Life, Father Maurizio Chiodi, has said that, in certain cases, a married couple may be ‘required’ to use artificial contraception. He uses Pope Francis’s controversial apostolic exhortation ‘Amoris Laetitia’ to justify his erroneous position which contradicts the infallible magisterial teachings of the Catholic church on contraception.
“There are circumstances — I refer to Amoris Laetitia, Chapter 8 — that precisely for the sake of responsibility, require contraception.” (Father Maurizio Chiodi – December 14, 2017)
Many Catholics now Eealise that there is a Serious Problem
An increasing number of faithful Catholics are becoming worried about what is going on in our beloved Church. The open division and dissent, even amongst the higher levels of the hierarchy, are a cause of concern. I myself have been cautioned about not becoming a cause of division. My response to this is, that it is impossible to cause division by upholding and proclaiming the Truths of the Catholic church on marriage and family, which Truths the Catholic church has always taught.
Those who are causing division are precisely the ones who are arguing for an interpretation of Church teaching which will allow practices which are contrary to that teaching, to become acceptable in the name of a falsehood which they term the ‘pastoral approach’. Faithful Catholics have a duty to resist these false prophets and to resist these promoters of heresy even if they may be bishops or cardinals of the church. Our first allegiance is to God and not to men especially if these men prove to be wolves in sheep’s clothing.
The Signs of the Times – Avoid the Deceivers
“When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning: Today there will be a storm, for the sky is red and lowering. You know then how to discern the face of the sky: and can you not know the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2-3)
Let us take heed of what Our Lord says in this quotation from St Matthew and let us learn to read and to be aware of the signs of the times in which we now live. St Paul, writing to St Timothy also warns us about those who will come in the last times. He tells us to avoid these deceivers who only have the appearance of godliness and he tells us to stay true to what has been committed to us by the apostles.
“Know also this, that, in the last days, shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, traitors, stubborn, puffed up, and lovers of pleasures more than of God: Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
“But evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse: erring, and driving into error. But continue thou in those things which thou hast learned, and which have been committed to thee: knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And because from thy infancy thou hast known the holy scriptures, which can instruct thee to salvation, by the faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice, That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work.” (2 timothy 3:13-17)
Those who Oppose the Homosexual Agenda will be Attacked
As you read this article, I would also ask you to commit yourselves once again, to praying for those of us who publicly oppose the LGBT agenda. We will be attacked for taking on the homosexualist agenda which is growing more and more powerful in the world. In Ireland, there are very few voices confronting the promotion of sodomy within both the state and the church, and so we are more vulnerable to being attacked in person and spiritually. We need your prayers and your support all the while trusting in Our Lady, Help of Christians, to be by our side as we confront this growing menace to our children.
A Conference of Catholic Families
We are also organising and finalising the details of our ‘Conference of Catholic Families’ which will take place during the World Meeting of Families.
We hope to have conference tickets on sale from the beginning of February. These will be available online and from myself through a Catholic Voice advertisement. Now, you can also donate by credit card on our website or set up a credit/debit card recurring standing order on the website. Thank you so much for your support in this great adventure to proclaim anew the beautiful teachings of the Catholic Church on marriage and family, which are the foundation of civilised society.
© John Lacken 2018
These articles are free to download, to print and to distribute provided that authorship is acknowledged and contact details for the author are provided as follows.
Author: John Lacken
‘Legio Sanctae Familiae’ – The Legion of the Holy Family
E-Mail: john@truedevotions.ie
Mob: +353 (0)85-1208779
Website: www.truedevotions.ie
Leave a Reply