Call Alice…We’re in Wonderland

Do you ever get the sense that today we've wandered off into a kind of Wonderland? If you recall Lewis Carroll's story, you'll know that for young Alice the wonders of Wonderland weren't particularly pleasant. It was a land ruled largely by a "blind fury," the evil Queen of Hearts, who could make life there very difficult. 

Like Wonderland, our world, especially our corner of the world here in the once-United States of America, just gets stranger and stranger. Every few days, when I can stomach it, I check the news to get a sense of our current relationship with the cosmos. I'm inevitably assaulted by the truth -- at least, I assume it’s the truth. After all it’s on the Internet, so it must be true. Right? What follows are just a few of the assaults on my sense of normalcy that I’ve had to repel. 

Today we're the target of a direct assault, not just on our nation's long-held Judeo-Christian principles and Constitutional rights, but also on the Church itself. It's not enough simply to tolerate the sins of others; we must now openly celebrate them. As Americans we are being told to relinquish our First Amendment right to religious freedom and cower in the face of open attacks on God's Church and its magisterial teaching. This is something we cannot do.

Of course, we must remember that as Christians, we condemn no one, and leave decisions about one's salvation to each individual and to God Himself. But we are still called by God to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you..." [Mt 28:19-20]. Yes, indeed, we are called to teach God's commandments to all. And to do so, we must expose the attacks on God and His Church. We must also pray for those who are blinded by the temptings of the evil one, and pray that they will be open to God’s saving grace.

• Navy Drag Queen. The U.S. Navy now has a drag queen as a digital ambassador to aid in recruiting. As a retired Naval officer I’m more than a little outraged. First of all it’s morally despicable. But it’s also remarkably stupid. Does the Navy really believe a drag queen will help recruit the kind of sailors we need to keep the peace and perhaps fight the next war? The Navy chose one of its own petty officers to fill this critical billet, a Yeoman 2/C who goes by the name of Joshua Kelley, except when he slimes into his drag queen role and becomes Harpy Daniels. I find it interesting that, to my knowledge, the Navy's uniformed leadership has said little about all this. None have resigned in disgust because the Biden administration is doing everything in its power to undermine the readiness and morale of our armed forces. Believe me, our current and future enemies — the Chinese Communists, Putin’s Russia, Iran, North Korea, and a host of others — are laughing at us, amazed at our willingness to respond to their growing aggression with such idiocy. I can think of few things more dangerous than a potential enemy who looks at us and sees only weakness. Read the latest here: Navy Drag Queen Violates UCMJ

• U.S. Vatican Embassy Flies Pride Flag. The Biden administration, in its enthusiasm for celebrating so-called Pride Month in honor of a wide variety of sexual perversions collected under the alphabetic umbrella LGBTQIA+, decided to merge this enthusiasm with its equally passionate anti-Catholicism and fly the Pride flag at the U.S. Embassy building in the Vatican. To those who live these lifestyles, the fact that Catholicism considers them sinful is enough to accuse the Church of discrimination and persecution. In its public statement, the Embassy tweeted:

“During the month of June, the celebrates Pride Month . @usinholysee stands with the LBGTQI+ community against discrimination and other forms of persecution because of who they are and whom they love ”

 

Besides the Vatican, there are other nations who object to public celebrations of the LBGTQI+ community — for example, pretty much the entire Muslim world. I think I’m probably safe stating that the Pride flag did not fly outside the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia or in any other Muslim nation. Read more here: Pride Flag at Vatican US Embassy

• Prideful Jesuit. Fr. James Martin, S.J., the LGBTQwhatever apologist has given us another of his incredible statements via Twitter. Here's Fr. Martin's tweet:

“In June, Catholics celebrate the Month of the #SacredHeart. LGBTQ people celebrate #PrideMonth. LGBTQ Catholics celebrate both. One shows us how Jesus loves. The other shows us whom Jesus calls us to love today. 

June: Celebrating the Sacred Heart and celebrating Pride. Where would the Sacred Heart be today? It would be poured out in love on these people who seek love and acceptance.”

Yes, the Sacred Heart of Jesus pours out His love for all, but He neither accepts nor overlooks our sins. He instead tells our LGBTQ Catholics and others just what He told the woman caught in adultery:

Jesus looked up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you: go, and do not sin again” [Jn 8:10-11].

Recall how Jesus began His public ministry with the command:

“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” [Mk 1:15].

The first step, then, is always repentance, a change in how we live our lives, a decision to turn away from sin.  

Read more here: Priestly response to Fr. James Martin.

• Big Business Worships Evil. American businesses, large and small, used to accept that employees and customers were generally religious people. To attack religious values was seen as both immoral and bad business. My how things have changed. These days, when the gender crazies go after them, too many businesses simply roll over and do whatever they're told. Bud Light, Target, Kohls, the LA Dodgers, and a host of other companies have capitulated to the current zeitgeist, an ideology pushed forward by a mob representing perhaps 7% of the American population. And believe me, the mob's target isn't Target. No, the real target is God Himself. At their core these attacks have little to do with achieving basic rights for those in the LGBTQ community. They've enjoyed those rights for decades. No, this is an attack on God and His Church, and it will continue. As Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco told his flock not long ago, "Gird your loins!" I think we're in for quite a ride, one that will certainly test our faith. 

Pray for strength, sisters and brothers. Are all the signs beginning to merge, perhaps pointing to the end times, to the times of worldwide persecution before the glorious return of Our Lord? I haven't a clue. But that doesn't keep me from praying those words of John the Apostle with which he concludes his Book of Revelation: 

The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. [Rev 22:20-21]