Alas Babylon!

    Blessed Are They

Who Are Hated Because of Me...

July Newsletter

In this Newsletter:

1) Marriage / Meeting Summary

2) Meeting Book Study

3) Prayers for Fidei Defensor at Lifefest

**We are looking for anyone interested in learning about Street Evangelization.  We'd like to have a few teams able to go out and spread the Good News!  Please pray about this, and for people to step forward.  Please contact us if you are interested or know of someone who is interested.

Meeting Summary 

     I apologize I did not get a invitation email / message out prior to this month's meeting.  Between my 7th child about to be born (3 in heaven, 2 boys, 1 firecracker of a girl and 1 girl OTW) and the Supreme Court's ruling on Friday, I totally forgot. 

     We spent our time talking about the Supreme Court Ruling and Marriage.  Shawn Zehms had a wonderful write up of Sherif Gergis' "What is Marriage?" which, although he is Catholic, is a non-religious based argument for the real definition of Marriage.

     What has happened, is up until the 1600's no one questioned the definition of marriage as: one man, one woman, for life, for the betterment of the spouses, for the creation, raising and educating of children.  Then in 1644 John Milton proposed that marriage really isn't for life and really is about "comfort" and "cheerful conversations", i.e. "feelings... nothing more than feelings."  That was the first domino to fall.  Since then we have given over the "education of children" to the government - I'm not saying here that children can't attend a public school; but most parents have abdicated the idea that they still are the primary educators of their children.  Next was the idea that the creation of children is a purpose of marriage at all - reading "Cheaper by the Dozen" to my children has taught me that this was under attack by the 1920's already.  T.V. enabled large portions of parents to give up on the "raising" part of children.  I know it's a huge temptation I have to fight too.  If I'm trying to get a post done, it's so easy to just turn on the idiot box, plop down the kids and have a free hour to type.  Then the permanence of marriage was totally removed with "no fault divorce"; sex and procreation were totally separated with wide spread contraception, the horribly damaging notion of "free love" and the creation of IVF (ironically it's sex without children and children without sex).

     Finally, after a generation of total breakdown in family, one of the last bits of the real definition of marriage was dissolved: Man and woman.  I'm almost certain that by the end of the decade - if not sooner - the "one" part will be dissolved and maybe even the understood aspects of "humans only" and "adults only" too.

    So what do we do?  As Catholic Answers so aptly put it we go back to basics.  We start at the beginning and teach the Full, True definition of Marriage: the only definition that is defendable from science and philosophy; the only definition that secures a future for any country.  But most of all, we LIVE IT.  We celebrate, as we just did in my parish this past weekend, long marriages.  We have lots of kids.  We encourage others to do so.  We reclaim our right, as parents, to be the primary educators of our children, even if we send them to school.  We fight through tough times, we forgive, we ask for forgiveness, we live to better the other spouse.  We LIVE the definition:

One Man, One Woman, for life, for the betterment of the spouses, for the creation, raising and educating of children.

"Let your light shine before men that they may see the good works that you do and give glory to your Father in heaven."  Mt. 5:16

2)  Book Study:  Starting next meeting, July 25th, 8am Gehl Center, behind the Green Bay Cathedral.

     In the interest of being a little more organized, we're going to be starting a book study.  We'll be picking topics from "The Catholic Survival Guide" available at "Cathedral Book and Gift" or available at most Catholic book stores or online.  The book is a compilation of 60+ pamphlets from Catholic Answers dealing with a range of issues from the Authority of the Catholic Church to Mormonism to Marriage etc.  Each month we will pick one to read and study about, with discussion the following meeting.  Even if you're unable to make the meetings, we'd highly recommend following along with us, as I will summate our discussion in the newsletters.



     Shawn Zehms will run the next meeting as I will be teaching for the Diocese that day.  My hope is that being a little more organized will help us all to learn the Faith better.

3) Prayers for Fidei Defensor at Lifefest.

     On July 11th, 10am to 5pm, Shawn and I will be answering questions of all comers at Lifefest, the national pro-life convention.  It draws tens of thousands, only a quarter of which identify as Catholic.  This year, the even organizer wanted a greater Catholic presence and has teamed up with the Diocese to make that happen.  This, in turn, will ruffle the feathers of many non-Catholics, many of whom have misconceptions about the Catholic Church and her teachings.

     Please pray for us, that the Holy Spirit gives us the words He wants us to say and opens the hearts of those who approach us with questions.  Pray that - at least for me - I get out of the Holy Spirit's way and allow myself to be used, rather than honored.

God Bless,

Fidei Defensor