“I am convinced that the crisis in the church that we are experiencing is to a large extent due to the disintegration of the Liturgy…when the community of faith, the worldwide unity of the church and her history, and the mystery of the living Christ are no longer viable in the Liturgy, where else, then, is the Church to become visible in her spiritual essence? Then the community is celebrating only itself, an activity that is utterly fruitless.” ~ Cardinal Ratzinger – 1997

The question I heard most at my 40^th High School Reunion “What is with the Catholic thing?” A lyric to a song (Guilty) I wrote some 10 years ago sets the stage nicely for my response:

It’s hard to remember, so tough to forget…

But the purpose of living hasn’t dawned on me yet.

Well it sure has now!!

                        Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi

                    (How we pray, is how we believe, is how we live!)

Good Morning Dear Friend! All we need to do is follow the bread crumbs in reverse beginning with an honest look at how we live! The fact is that we as a societal body are a puss-ridden stage four sack of cancerous rot about to collapse in on ourselves. Steroids and pain-killers only postpone the inevitable and dull the senses. If you don’t get this by now, all I can say is that you are in for one hell of a rude awakening! http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/brooklyn-bodega-owner-slashing-bushwick-gates-avenue-broadway-166588216.html

So, working backwards, our near lifeless form is a result of how we believed. Here’s what I honestly believe we believe based on my own day-to-day work and social experience here in the Northeast. I believe that belief has been replaced by a Group Think that goes something like this;

He/she who dies with the most toys wins. Church/temple is as much an accessory and way for me to fit in (social acceptance) as it is a way for me to feel good about myself.

In other words, we no longer believe in God for God…we believe in the act of believing for us.In other words, our belief in God has become more similar to our ceremonial act of believing in Santa Claus.

Which brings us to my answer to the question my friends asked me, “Why Catholic?” How we pray…the Liturgy is where it all begins. As an Estate Planner, the most important question I ask most of my clients when I first meet them is “Do you have a Will?” The reason for this is simple. The Will is the blueprint for their estate beyond them…the detailed instruction for the fulfillment of their legacy as they Will it to be. Dying without a Will (Intestacy) is a relinquishment of our Will to the State!

Jesus Christ, the very founder of the Catholic Church left us his Will. The Sacrament of Holy Communion through the Eucharist…the very heart and soul of our Liturgy! In fact the Substantiation (the actual presence of the flesh and blood of Christ in the bread and wine) in the Catholic Mass is what sets it apart from the other Christian observances.

It is incumbent on each and every one of us for whom God is more than an adornment to seek The Truth as it relates to the Will of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As the seed determines the fruit, Lex Orandi (How we pray) determines the fruit of our loom…the essential quality of our lives. When we examine the history of our faith and the course of human events, we are lead to an inescapable conclusion. The State in the hands of the Diabolical would love nothing more than for you and I to die intestate! The following two-part presentation by Michael Voris explains this better than I ever could!

Trust me when I tell you these are immeasurably valuable breadcrumbs… 

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Part 1 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9fpG2sQg_fg

Part 2 ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=S8P0JcvsMgE

I would like to leave you with an amazing quote and a passionate appeal:

The quote ~

“Man’s confusion has reached its peak. The present hour is such that a political catastrophe must be approaching, because the present suspense is not tenable. In the spiritual outlook of the world there reigns an absolutely hopeless confusion. No one knows anymore whom he can trust or upon what he can rely. That is the position at the present hour of the world.”

These words could have been spoken by any man or woman looking out on the present state of our world today, right? In fact these words were spoken by Eberhard Arnold, the Founder of a Christian community known as the Bruderhof in Germany…precisely at the time of Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 or 34. (From the book An Embassy Besieged)

My appeal ~

Just as the seed determines the fruit, the fish rots from the head. The leadership of Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan has been called into question. The very integrity of our faith and Will of our Lord are being compromised for political gain! This must be halted in its tracks! I urgently plead with all people of faith to act in accordance with your own heart in this matter, but please call, write, visit, pray and beg for the Archbishop to come to his senses on this matter and disinvite Barack Obama from the Al Smith Dinner in October! You must watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK5QIl9yaeU&feature=player_embedded

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host –
by the Divine Power of God –
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.