Rereading The Hobbit and Reflecting on the Journeyi

The hero's journey is one of the major themes in literature. And as I've been rereading The Hobbit this week and seeing all the crises and difficulties Bilbo experiences, it made me think of my own journey. Many of Bilbo's adventures involve facing evil: evil trolls, goblins, Gollum (who made himself evil by his wicked choices), the wolves, and Smaug. He also experiences the help of friends who bring warmth and comfort to an otherwise dreary quest. And then there are the plodding times through the Mirkwood when all is dark and depressing, perhaps the worst evil of all -- the temptation to despair.

Isn't that a lot like life? We face evil and continuously have to fight it. The temptations to do wrong, the petty meanness so easy to fall into, the temptations to discouragement. "Just give up; it's too hard and who cares anyway?" That's when we need to look up and see the light and remember we are never alone and help is always close at hand.

What is your journey like today? Whatever it is, don't walk alone. Be aware of the spiritual twin walking with you, your guardian angel, who is so eager to help you. Look for ways that you can be a comfort to those around you. Somehow, in encouraging others, our own journey becomes easier. Have a blessed day. You are the hero on the most important journey of all -- life in Christ. Let us pray to be transformed so we can be a guide to others on the journey.

Why Kim Davis is Right and the Judge who Jailed her is the Lawless One!

Kim Davis and Same Sex Lawlessness

Death Panels Back from the Dead: Take Action Immediately!

You have until Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. to make your opinions known about Medicare funding for end of life discussions that will encourage patients to refuse life-sustaining care. Read about it here.


And here are instructions for commenting.

FEDERAL REGS COMMENT DEADLINE IS SEPT 8 AT 5PM   (Who needs legislation? Death Panels Back By Government Fiat!)

September 3, 2015  

Dear all,

It has been almost five years since I wrote you about the effort of the federal government to impose EOL consultations on us through the use of a carrot and stick.

That alert apparently made its way to the desk of Robert Pear at the NY Times, their healthcare expert.  He was interested in LifeTree's investigative work and ran a story on Christmas Day titled "Obama Returns to End-of-Life Plan That Caused Stir."

On January 4, 2011, the Obama administration withdrew the EOL portion of the new regulation, just 10 days after the NY Times article.  The story had captured the news over the holidays. 

Since then the Big Death lobby, a.k.a. the Third Path Movement, has been patiently at work getting ready to come at this problem again!   

A "Notice and Comment Rulemaking" period is currently under way with a deadline of September 8, 2015, 5pm Eastern.  After that deadline next Tuesday, an important change in how medicine will be practiced will take place unless CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) receives serious negative comments from the general public.   

Here is what has happened.  Please continue to read.  This is important!!

Two new CPT Codes (Current Procedural Terminology Codes, registered trademard of the American Medical Association) can be used by healthcare professionals starting Jan 1, 2016 to record Advance Care Planning Services and apply for reimbursement from the federal government for these "services." 

These Advance Care Planning talks will record wishes pertaining to medical treatment and record them in an advance care document such as 1) healthcare proxy, 2) healthcare power of attorney, 3) living will and 4) POLST/MOST/POST/MOLST form.  (You know, the POLST form that become doctor's orders!)

These codes are 99497 for the first 30 minutes of advance care planning discussion and form completion with the patient by the physician or other qualified health professional, and 99498 for any additional minutes spent with the patient for that purpose. 

PLEASE, take a moment right now to tell the federal government that you oppose this regulatory change.  (See the list of suggested points which you could make, below) 

You can submit comments electronically, by regular mail, or by express or overnight mail.   Use only one method.  Please comment IMMEDIATELY. 

Sunday Meditation: The Call to Be Missionaries to a Neo-Pagan Culture

One of my readers posted a comment on my last article linking to a wonderful blog with an amazing homily by the pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville, SC, Fr. Jay Scott Newman. (Thanks, Alan!) Father makes the point that, rather than bewailing the collapse of the culture, we should welcome it as an opportunity. An honest view of the culture makes it clear that it is more neo-pagan with a Christian veneer. But the "victory" of the sexual revolution exhibited by the recent enshrinement of same-sex "marriage" by the Supreme Court offers tremendous evangelical possibilities. Here are a few of the points Father makes:

[T]he legal dispute over same sex marriage in the United States has now been decided, and in that contest the traditional Christian understanding of marriage lost. What you may be surprised to learn is that I welcome this defeat, and I want to explain why...

Kim Davis: the Canary in the Mine

The treatment of Kentucky county
clerk Kim Davis who refused to issue a same sex marriage license is a warning to Christians. Like the canaries in the coal mines who let miners know when the air was getting impossible to breathe, the jailing of Kim Davis for refusing to bend to a federal judge's demand indicates exactly where this is going. Like the poisoned air in the mine threatening the life of the miners, the cultural air is poisonous for Christians. They will not be tolerated when they stand up for the natural law or listen to the voice of the people. Kentucky voters rejected same-sex marriage in 2004, but liberal judges have been making law for years. Who cares what the voters want, the bigots in black robes will make the rules even when they overturn thousands of years of moral rule. So despite the fact that the state constitution of Kentucky says marriage is between a man and a woman, Davis must bow to the liberal tyrant judge. When she wouldn't, she was jailed for contempt. But the real contempt is on the part of the judge for the Judeo-Christian ethic.

What is the reality here? Kim Davis engaged in a courageous act of civil disobedience against a mad judiciary. Suppose you were a government employee who lived in Germany in 1939 and you received an order to arrest Jews and load them on cattle cars heading for concentration camps. Would you comply? Suppose you were a doctor ordered to carry out the euthanasia laws against the handicapped. Would you participate in gassing the innocent?

Homosexuals have framed the debate as one of civil rights equal to discrimination against blacks. It's a diabolical lie. Blacks suffered because of the color of their skin, a genetic trait. Homosexuals want special privileges based on their BEHAVIOR, i.e., same-sex sodomy.

But the fact is that "gays" don't really want marriage at all. In a recent article in The Nation, four authors outline an agenda that includes disestablishing marriage altogether. What they appear to want is for all things to be viewed through a "gay" lens: relationships, economic factors, health care, work, social issues -- all must be seen according to the LGBTQ vision. The authors promote the "progressive" left and call for crushing the right. No one may dissent from their viewpoint. Christians will bend to the beast or be fed to the lions.

Like I said, the treatment of Kim Davis is the canary in the mine. The Christians in this country will either join together to fight, or they will "hang" separately.

Margaret Sanger was a White Supremacist and Vicious Racist - #BustRacism

So why is she being honored by the Smithsonian!

Black Pastors, Pro-Life Leaders Rally to Demand Smithsonian Remove Bust of Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger

You can help get Sanger off her pedestal and into the trash can of history with other evil tyrants. Sanger and her cronies did more to establish the culture of death in America than almost any other modern figure. She considered minorities, Jews, Catholics, the "feeble-minded," etc. as "human weeds," and she did whatever she could to help exterminate them. While publicly pretending to be against abortion, she actually gave women advice on how to bring their period if they missed it. Read her pamphlet on Family Limitation.  She gave an interview in 1947 calling for a moratorium on women having babies. Sanger was a selfish, power-mad narcissist. 

Help get her bust out of the Smithsonian. Media Research Center is urging citizens to call the Smithsonian and courteously demand the removal of the bust from the taxpayer funded museum. If they need a place to put it suggest the Holocaust Museum. She was a big fan of Adolf Hitler. 

Betrayed by the Republican Establishment Again

Mitch McConnell: Can you say Judas?

Mitch McConnell Does it Again

All McConnell cares about is his seat and his little fiefdom. He doesn't give a hoot about the country as long as he can keep the taxpayer dollars flowing into his pocket and enjoy the perks and privileges of being among America's aristocrats. Here's a little from the article about McConnell's betrayal:

Would You Stand with a Child Abuser? Maybe You Do!

My neighbor is abusing his child. But it’s okay, though. Here’s why.

Very good analogy. Why is it okay to abuse someone because of his size or place of residence? Is a baby in the womb really less worthy of protection than a baby five minutes after birth? Think about it. Planned Parenthood is guilty of the ultimate child abuse. They don't just beat up little ones, they rip them limb from limb. Anyone who justifies that is guilty of enabling abuse.  

The Horrors of Collecting "Intact Fetuses" -- And How to Get Around Government Regs!

CMP releases video number 9 - How Cavalier the death peddlers are talking about killing and collecting baby body parts. How is this any different from experimentation by Nazi doctors? There isn't any except the size of the victims. Listen to the language. "The doctor makes sure that the termination is complete." Final solution for that little baby, eh?

Great News about SSPX and the Year of Mercy

POPE FRANCIS FOR YEAR OF MERCY GRANTS THAT SSPX PRIESTS CAN VALIDLY ABSOLVE!

Omigosh, what will Church Militant TV do with this? The SSPX perhaps aren't as demonic as formerly thought. Read the entire post and the comments at Fr. Z's blog and take to heart his admonition to go to Confession.

Let's pray in the Year of Mercy that we see the complete reconciliation of the SSPX. We need their fidelity and zeal to help renew the face of the earth!

Here is the salient quote from the document: