On Comment Moderation and the Meaning of Real Love

I apologize to those who left comments yesterday and early this morning. I was having trouble getting the comments to post and lost them in the process when I went back to unmoderated status.

To Luke who left an opinion on the "gay blogger" post that my site is full of hate, I'm sorry you feel that way. What exactly is your definition of "love" since you are sure I don't have any? And what's your definition of "hate" since you think my blog is full of it?

Too many people think "love" is a gushy, warm feeling (I think that's wetting your pants. Ask Chris Matthews).

Love isn't, in fact, a feeling at all, although feelings can accompany it. It's a verb, a strong verb. Love proves itself by willing and doing good for the other. Love's primary good is to do everything to help the beloved come to eternal salvation. And sometimes doing that means speaking the hard truth.

We live in the "tolerant" and "compassionate" culture of "I'm okay, you're okay." But it's a lie. If you are cheating on your spouse, you're not okay. If you're embezzling from your boss, you're not okay. If you're beating your girlfriend or your children, you're not okay. If you're writing bad checks or shoplifting to get money to support a drug habit, you're not okay. If you're a college student cheating on tests, plagiarizing your research papers, etc., ditto. If you're a scientist fudging the results of global warming data so they match your agenda, you're not okay; you're a fraud.

Sin is not okay, no matter how good it feels or how much you fool yourself into believing that it's good, noble and beautiful because you're so sincere and mean so well. I will never tell someone "You're okay" when I know that statement will help them continue to embrace an evil act. Whether the person I was talking to was one of my children or a sibling or another relative or a friend, I try to speak the truth in love. "Not all who say, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven."

Luke, you aren't the first to accuse me of hate. I've been screamed and cursed at outside abortion mills while I was trying to assist women. But the moms who accepted our help and chose life for their babies felt differently, including the Muslim parents who decided not to kill their sixth child when they saw our group praying (with a priest) and took our literature. They invited my husband and me to their older daughter's wedding when the baby we saved was about four. She was the only one of their children who couldn't speak Persian and they called her their "all American girl."

I've had liberal Catholics accuse me of being "violent" for doing nothing more than engage in vigorous debate. If I cared about what other people think of me, I suppose I'd be silent. But I want to meet everybody merrily in heaven and if I hide my light under a bushel I may be cast out with the cowardly servant who buried his talent in the earth. I won't go to hell for the comfort of being silent.

We all need to give up our sins and accept the gracious mercy of our God.
But those who pretend their sins are holy actions, those who call evil good and good evil, will not enter into eternal life. How do I know? Because Jesus said so. And it isn't an act of hate to say that.

I'm a sinner and I freely acknowledge the fact. It's the reason I go to confession often. But I must speak the truth, because Jesus promised the truth will set us free. Some of this blog is opinion and thoughtful people can disagree. I don't claim to be an expert on all the things I express opinions about, but when I present the doctrine of the Church and the truth of the Gospel, I'm not giving my opinion. Christ established the Church and called Peter "the rock." A person can pound his head on that rock all day, but the only thing that will break is his head. God doesn't lie. He wants us all to be saved, but He gave us free will and will not force heaven on unrepentant sinners.

I don't hate anyone, but I hate the evil we all do. And that's a big difference! When people commit evil in the privacy of their bedroom or in the closet, I don't know about it. But when they shove it in my face, when they take their evil to the city streets like the Folsom Street Fair and other perverted "pride" events, when they demand that my grandkids be taught that their evil actions are "civil rights," when they lobby for laws to make me and others cooperate with their evil - I will fight. And that fight is a loving response to the insanity of a sinful disdain for God and His laws.

I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, Luke. I only want what God wants for you. So buck up and take what I say like a man instead of whining and saying I'm full of hate. After all, shouldn't you practice toward me the tolerance and compassion that's the mantra of the gay community? When you point your finger at me and call me hateful notice where the other fingers on your hand are pointing.