Sorry–it is Good Friday and I do not feel too “bubbly” right now. When I began to contemplate the Cross today and Who was nailed to it I found myself disgusted. I am disgusted and fed up with the approximately 2% of the population who are gay and are screaming at the “intolerance” of the Catholic/Christian community which comprises 80% of the American population. I am tired of us being called “intolerant” and “homophobic” and “racist” etc., simply because they do not get their way in every little thing they demand. Have they ever once considered what that Cross we revere stands for? The fact is, they have hijacked the Cross and insist it represents them and their self-indulgent ideology. We Christians are the “bad people.” This perverse nonsense has to stop.

I am also tired of the mainstream media and the Hollywood elite denigrating and mocking Christianity and all who belong to it as “fools.” Aren’t you tired of being trashed by the anti-God people? Why can’t they seem to understand one bit of the the kindness and goodness that has been extended to ALL people by Catholic/Christians, you know, people like all of us. Bill Maher says that people who believe in God, “are idiots and they are stupid.” Has he or any of his fellow God-haters ever taken one damn moment and looked at that Cross and reflected about the sweet mercy, flowing grace and abundant love that smeared blood red all over the wood? I think not.

The United States State Department says that in at least 60 countries, Christians face persecution simply because they are Christian. Imagine, being hated for loving. How twisted is that? Seventy-five percent of the world’s population lives in areas with severe religious persecution. Yes, yes, I know, we are supposed to “turn the other cheek.” Well, this Catholic man says I’ll turn it but if you keep slapping my face every time I do, sooner or later I am going to slap you back. My brothers and sisters, I think it is time to start slapping back. Not with fists and pipes and lies and rants but with the written word defending our Faith against all attacks, even if it is a Tweet on Twitter or a blurb on Facebook.

I also want our bishops to get up there and start defending Christ and His people. And I want them to tell their priests to defend it also. (When was the last time you heard a priest in your parish defend the faith against the evil run amok all over the world including the USA?) I want them to say “We don’t need your your damn tax exemption 501c3. We must defend our faith no matter what.”

That’s right, forget this “PC” (politically correct) nonsense. We, as Catholics, do not put pen to paper and lie, slander or foment falsehoods about people. We write about Jesus Christ and the beautiful Faith He has given to us. That is not evil or intolerant. That is what we are about. We are about loving our neighbor and, for the most part, we do.

Last June ISIS overran the city of Mosul in Iraq. They killed countless numbers of our brother and sister Chaldean Catholics. The Church in Erbil has set up camps and is helping more than 130,000 refugees settle in temporarily until they might once again go back home to Mosul. Pope Francis has set an example for us all, including our hierarchy. He has sent Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Prefect for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, to these displaced Catholics. The Holy Father has initiated a program to give out cakes to each of the families in the camps. A total of more than 20,000 cakes will be distributed as the Holy Father shows them they all have his support and he is standing up to the maniacal, Satan driven savages of ISIS. He has taken the lead.

All I am asking for is more defense of the faith via the spoken and written word and some leadership from our safely placed American hierarchy in mounting a campaign to do so. Jesus never said it would be easy following Him. Seeing what happens to Him on Good Friday proves it. War is being waged against us, not only over there but right here in our own country. Time to “slap back.”

Larry is a Catholic/Christian author and blogger and posts weekly commentary. His work has appeared in such publications as Zenit from Rome, Aleteia, New Evangelists, Top Catholic Blogs, Big Pulpit, Catholic365.com and others. His first children's picture book, "Slippery Willie's Stupid, Ugly Shoes" was published in 2011. In 2012, his full-length novel, "The Priest and the Peaches" was released. His second novel, "The Demons of Abadon", was released in the spring of 2016. Larry’s latest novel, “Horizon Homeless” was released in ebook format in May of 2017 and the paperback followed on July 27, 2017. Larry belongs to the Catholic Writer’s Guild, The Catholic Writer’s Society, The Knights of Columbus, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. He has been an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for over twenty years bringing communion to the homebound and hospitalized. He lives in Pinellas Park, Florida and his kids and six grandchildren all live within three miles of each other. His first wife died of cancer in 2003. He remarried four years later and became the primary caregiver for his wife, Martha who came down with Non-Hodgins Lymphoma in 2011. The cancer was in remission when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in October of 2014. Sadly and unexpectedly, Martha passed away on March 27, 2017. The writer says, "God has me where he needs me and I try my best to make Him proud. Larry’s blog site is http://www.slipperywillie.blogspot.com You can find more at www.larrypeterson-author.com

2 Replies to “Time to “Slap Back” at the Self-Serving Intolerance of the Anti-Catholic/Christian”

  1. Amen. Amen. Can you hear me whistling?? Catholics still make up the biggest percentage of population here in the U.S. If we all stood for the precepts of the Church faithfully and boldly, we would be living in a different world. The enemy is running ram shod over God’s people because those who know better are not doing better. They are carefully guarding their “popularity” with their “friends” rather than worshiping and following the One Who GAVE THEM ALL. They have been deceived into believing that tolerance of sin equals love. This is NOT the love! I am NOT a hater because I believe we must follow God’s commands. I am NOT closed-minded and behind the times. I LOVE people enough to tell them the truth–that God WILL NOT BE MOCKED. His commands are JUST AND RIGHT. I am tired of God’s people allowing those who call evil, good, and good, evil to shove sinful behavior into our lives and then call us haters because we refuse to agree or refuse to participate in what we believe is sinful. I am weary of those who refuse to take a stand on abortion and say that these and other moral issues don’t belong in social discussions including Facebook. Where else should we discuss them? In the basement? In the bathroom? Perhaps so. We should be discussing them EVERYWHERE if necessary and when we get an opportunity–there are LIVES at stake. SOULS at stake. Jesus admonished us to be ready when He comes again. Are we? What will He come again and find us doing? Will He come to find us about our Father’s business? I pray He does. I pray that we start a fire smoldering of faith AND action that becomes a blaze of TRUTH to burn away the lies the devil has used to cover our hearts, our ears, our eyes, with apathy, fear, lust, jealousy, sloth, greed and all the sins that would keep us from boldly standing up for His holy precepts. Each year when we read the Passion before Easter at Mass, I am reminded that the people who loved Jesus were in the crowd that was shouting for Barabbas’ release, but their voices were not heard. There were too few. Perhaps their voices were just not shouting loudly enough. Today, may our voices and our lives SHOUT the truth in the way we live, act, speak, love.
    I challenge each of us to Love our Lord enough that it COSTS you something. Love one another enough to speak the truth, and LIVE the truth. In the end, Jesus has declared that we will stand before God in judgment for every careless word we speak. (Matthew 12:36) As for those who choose to be apathetic… “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16
    C’mon, fellow Catholics, let’s pick up our crosses and follow after Him. Let’s boldly proclaim the truth from mountaintops and to the ends of the earth! Let’s set people FREE with the TRUTH of Christ rather than remain silent and allow the bondage of sin to destroy. We honor Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross when we emulate Him. Today, may our lives begin to mirror His until we are truly One with Him.

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