Saturday, October 11, 2008

Sober Saturday

Well, just got back. Still sober. I was going to give a big drawn out description if the party, but I don't feel like it.


Ugh.. what to write.


I can be a strong person. I don't depend on people to help me at all. Weather it be, a few dollars for lunch, or a ride to work. I fix myself, and my situations. I've always been like this, as far as I can remember. I know for this to work, I need moral support. I know this. When I read some of the comments, about calling so-and-so, that shit hurts. It's like no one is giving me a chance. I was around alcohol ALL NIGHT LONG! I drank an energy drink, water, and coffee. Don't get me wrong, the buffet of bottles, were tempting as hell, but I'm head strong. I don't want to tuck my tail in between my legs. Part of me says, "I can do this myself". But, in the back of my head, I know I need to find a sponsor, and I know that I need to start reading the book.

I don't know, Im in a bad mood tonight. I really wanted to drink. And Im sure some of you, in the back of your hair said, well, This is it for that one new sober blogger kid. And personally, I hope people keep saying that. It makes me want to go one more hour, one more day, one more week. Speaking of week... It will be one 1 week on Monday. I wish they gave a chip out for that. LOL. I'm addicted to that 24hr chip. Take it everywhere.


Thanks for reading,

Kyle

110 comments:

Shadow said...

hey! friday and saturday past and still going strong. that's super coooool!

Anonymous said...

None of it is meant to hurt you. We have been right where you are now, and we know what you are going through. None of us could do it on our own. My best thinking and "will power" always ended up getting me drunk! That's why we say it is a "we" program, not a "me" program. Reaching out and asking for help is the first step. You may think for a time that you have power over alcohol. This disease is cunning, baffling and power. It is the disease that tells you that you do not have a disease. Keep going to meetings and sharing. You are doing great!

J-Online said...

I can relate as asking for help is so foreign to me. It hurts to think I'm not strong enough, or don't have enough willpower to do it myself but the truth is I've tried doing it my way and it just didn't work. I'm not implying it won't for you as I don't know. I'm close to 90 days post relapse and am thinking about getting a sponsor. I hate the idea but realize how much I need it and honestly what do I have to lose at this point? I think you are doing great.

Just Me said...

I'm really happy for you.

Hugs!

almulou said...

I know alcohol is everywhere, but why are you torturing you going to all those parties?

Anyway, you did it, and you made it...you are wonderful!!!

A big hug from here

Almudena

wolfdancer said...

I wish j-online would of told you to read her last blog post, it was the best suggestion I heard when I was newly sober.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. I cannot and will not put myself in situations where I know there will be any type of drug use cause I'll use again if I do. Patty is 100% correct in saying that this is a we program...that's one of the hardest things for me to accept. That I need anyone or anything other than me is a biotch. But, my best thinking got me to a really dark and lonely place. Now, there is such hope and support present from all over the world. Good luck to you.

Mary Christine said...

Hope you are doing OK.

Syd said...

Kyle, first off, good going for not drinking. You're still sober which is great. And you're understanding that you take it one day at a time.

Nothing said here is anything but what has worked for many people. It is a great program, a successful program, for thousands. Our will tells us that we can do everything ourselves. Once I surrendered my will, I started getting better. I didn't have all the answers because if I had, then why had I been so miserable for so many years?

So I go to meetings, talk to my sponsor, read the Al-Anon literature, and work the steps. I'm in a much better place than I was a couple of years ago.

Mary Christine said...

Still thinking of you and hoping you are OK.

Mary Christine said...

Where's Kyle?

Anonymous said...

Hey Kyle, We are still here for you no matter what. OK?

Banana Girl said...

Just thought I would see if you got back from your...trip...vacation...absence. Call it what you will, you are thought of and loved by everyone leaving a comment in your life today. No judgement, no restrictions, just unconditional unabashed love. I am hoping you are doing ok. Ok is good enough. BG

summer said...

am rooting for you....r u ok?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

MANY ARE INVITED, BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN

Gospel
Mt 22:1-14 or 22:1-10


Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people
in parables, saying,
"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants
to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests,
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?'
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen."

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Syd said...

Hey Kyle, it appears that you just got Mickeyed. We all have been visited by the "guy who hates AA from downunder". I went to comment moderation finally because I got tired of deleting his repetitive posts. Anyway, hope that you are doing well.

almulou said...

Me too, I hope you're doing ok

Almudena

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Faith said...

I take my chip everywhere too! You aren't alone =)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Gospel
Lk 12:1-7


At that time:
So many people were crowding together
that they were trampling one another underfoot.
Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples,
“Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees.

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness
will be heard in the light,
and what you have whispered behind closed doors
will be proclaimed on the housetops.
I tell you, my friends,
do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but after that can do no more.
I shall show you whom to fear.
Be afraid of the one who after killing
has the power to cast into Gehenna;
yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?
Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.
Do not be afraid.
You are worth more than many sparrows.”

Anonymous said...

Hi Kyle, Just stopping by to say Hi, hope yoy have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Hey Kyle, hope you're doing okay. I hope you'll blog when you're able. Just know that you are not alone. You never have to be alone again. :0)

Heather

P.S. Mickey, God bless your tortured soul.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." Galatians 5:22-26

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Reading 1
Eph 2:1-10


Brothers and sisters:
You were dead in your transgressions and sins
in which you once lived following the age of this world,
following the ruler of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh,
following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses,
and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.
But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kathy Lynne said...

Keep coming Kyle!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Dear Kyle,

I LOVE JESUS SO MUCH

I SHOULD NEVER HAVE ANY CAUSE OR REASON TO BE ASHAMED TO LOVE JESUS.


Is not the time coming, and the day hastening, when covetous men shall be ashamed of loving the world, and voluptuous men ashamed of loving their pleasures, and ambitious men ashamed of loving their honors?

For is it not a horrid shame, that a rational creature should be such a sot as to love sin which is most loathsome, and not to love Jesus who is most lovely? to love deformity, and not beauty?

Oh shame, shame! It is a shame that sin should have such esteem, and Jesus such great contempt put upon him. But shame shall before long confound these now shameless wretches, when they shall cry out, "We are ashamed that we loved profits, and not Jesus- houses, lands, lusts, and not Jesus.

This is the confusion of our faces, and shame covers us-- that we should be so foolish, and so blind, that we had not sense, nor reason, to distinguish between sin, which is the greatest and most odious evil, and Jesus who is the greatest and most lovely good." But the time will never come, the day will never be, that a gracious soul shall be ashamed of his sincere love to Jesus Christ.


Peace Be With You
Michael Patrick David.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Hey Kyle! I hope that you'll write soon. I'm thinking about you and praying for you.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kathy Lynne said...

Hi Kyle, hope you are still sober but if you're not that's okay too. You can begin again. One of the things that brought me to sobriety was reading another blogger's struggles in and out. I identified because that was me. BTW if you put comment moderation you can avoid having Patrick or whoever he is spam your blog. You can just reject them outright and delete them from your email. Gotta give him credit though, he doesn't seem to care. xo

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Dear Kyle,
ONLY ONE WAY TO GOD - JESUS CHRIST!!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

My Dear Kyle,
FREE GIFT of ETERNAL LIFE!!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Just Me said...

Where are you Kyle? I've been checking back often hoping to find you have updated. Please let me know you are okay....comment on my blog or email me or something. Please!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Linda S. Socha said...

Kyle...Where are you...Long time no post. I see you picked up a blogger with no boundaries...It is ok to use the delete button.
I have a son....17 years sober...
Thinking of you
Linda

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

HOMOSEXUALITY
Gen. 1 & 2 - we see from the beginning that the complimentarity of the sexes reflects God's inner unity and His creative power and Fatherhood. God created man and woman to become one flesh which is consummated in the act of marital love.

Gen. 2:18 – throughout the creation story, God says “it is good” seven times. But when God pointed out that man was alone, God says “it is not good.” God then created woman. Man and woman therefore belong together by God’s design, according to His natural and supernatural law.

Gen. 2:24 – God created man and woman so that they could share communion. This communion is consummated in the marital act (which must be between a man and a woman). This communion is also a reflection of the eternal communion of the Blessed Trinity, who created man in His own image and likeness.

Gen. 19:24-28 - the Lord rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah as punishment for the sin of homosexuality. Homosexuality perverts God’s covenant with humanity.

Gen 13:13; 18:20: while homosexuals argue that the sin in Genesis 19 was the sin of “inhospitality,” these verses show that the Sodomites were evil and wicked people before the alleged sin of inhospitality. That is because the Sodomites were guilty of homosexuality, not inhospitality. In fact, 2 Pet 2:6:8 says that Lot witnessed their evil sexual practices “day after day.” The Sodomites’ sin was daily and pervasive.

Gen 19:5: this confirms that the Sodomites’ sin is homosexuality. Here, the Sodomites mistaken the two angels for men and, surrounding Lot’s house, ask to have sex with them. When the yell to Lot “bring them out that we may know them,” the Hebrew for “to know” (yadah) in Gen 19:5 means having sexual relations. See, for example, Gen 4:25 where “yadah” refers to sexual relations between Adam and Eve.

2 Pet 2:6-10: Peter also proves that the Sodomites were guilty of homosexuality. He says God condemned them for “licentiousness” and “lust of defiling passion,” which is where we get the title “Sodomite” for a homosexual. The Greek “aselgeia anastrophes” for lustful behavior is also found in Rom 13:13; Gal 5:19; Eph 4:19 and Jude 4.

Jude 7: Jude also confirms the Sodomites’ sin is homosexuality. Jude says they “indulged in unnatural lust” (Greek, ekporneusasai) and went after “strange flesh” (Greek, sarkos heteras) in reference to their homosexual sins.

2 Peter 2:4-6: Peter also reveals that the Sodomites are suffering in hell for their sins by comparing the Sodomites’ punishment to the eternal punishment of the evil angels. Just as God did not spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into hell, so He did the same with the Sodomites when He “condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly.”

Jude 5-7: Like Peter, Jude confirms that the Sodomites are in hell by saying that they had the same fate as the evil angels. Jude says just as the evil angels were condemned to hell, the Sodomites “likewise” (Greek, hos) acted immorally and are undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. “Undergoing” (Greek, upechousai) is a present participle which means their suffering is ongoing. See also the clear polarity between those who are saved (v.5) and those who are condemned (vv. 6-7,11,13).

Lev. 18:22, 29 - God commands a man never to lie with a male as with a female, or he will be cut off. This refers to supernatural death which is eternal separation from God. While the Old Covenant laws have been abrogated by the New Covenant, the Church has adopted their moral principles. Thus, the moral prohibitions on homosexuality still apply in the New Covenant, as Peter, Paul and Jude demonstrate.

Lev. 20:13 - God says that if a man lies with another man, he shall be put to death. From the very beginning, God has revealed that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered, unhealthy, and mortally sinful.

Deut. 22:5 - cross-dressing is also considered an abomination before God.

Matt. 19:6 - after referring to God's divine plan for man and woman, Jesus says a husband and wife become one flesh, which ultimately reflects God's union with humanity through the Church. Homosexual unions pervert this divine truth of God’s love for and union with the human race.

Rom. 1:26 - also, when a woman lies with another women (lesbianism), this is unnatural and a perversion. God wants His children to be pure and holy as He is holy. Paul condemns all homosexual acts, whether committed by men or women.

Rom. 1:27 – Paul calls the practice of homosexuality shameless, unnatural and a perversity. It is contrary to the natural law, as it eviscerates the life-giving aspect of human sexuality and reduces it to a selfish, pleasure-seeking end.

1 Cor 6:9: Paul teaches that sodomites will not enter into the kingdom of God. The Greek word for “sodomite” (arsenokoites) literally means “male copulation” or “male sexual relations.” The Greek “arsen” means “male” and “koites” means “coitus” or “sexual relations.” Paul uses the same word in 1 Tim 1:10.

1 Tim. 1:10 - sodomites are called ungodly and sinners, unholy and profane, lawless and disobedient. They are called by God to chastity. It is important to note that homosexual attractions and inclinations, while disordered and dangerous, are not by themselves sinful per se. It is the acting out on homosexual attraction that is sinful. Those with homosexual desires can still live a life worthy of Christ by remaining chaste and pure as they abstain from acting out on their desires.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

CARL JUNG :
I invite you to consider the following documents which prove the Clear and Present Danger of
Carl Jung and Psychology which has already become the Trojan Horse and Strange Fire within the Body of Christ and has become a central theme to the Church Growth Movement through Bill Hybels at Willowcreek and Rick Warren via his Purpose Driven Church.

I appeal to you all to consider two Scriptures with respect to the use of Meyers-Briggs and Personality Profiling in counseling:

"Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come "Behold, they shall be as stubble;..." Isaiah 47:13.

"Ye shall know them by their fruits Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" Matthew 7:16

"For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes." Luke 6:43-44

"Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so [can] no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." James 3:12

"Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils." I Corinthians 10:21

"Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." Psalm 1:1

Carl Jung was clearly ungodly and unbiblical in his ideas.

Finally, I humbly submit to you the following verse in the hope that I might actually recruit you to become part of a vanguard to your colleagues, members, and those you counsel to fear the Lord in considering this Scripture:

"Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Kindest regards in Christ,

James Sundquist

President

Rock Salt Publishing

Unknown said...

Save your life, save you relationship, save your love, DON’T READ OR FOLLOW THIS BOOK ”Codependency No More”, IT IS BLASPHEMY, says Dr James Dobson

Like M. Scott Peck, Melody Beattie claims to be a Christian, but is teaching unbiblical ideas that preach "Self-Love" psychology and New Age perspectives.

Author of the best-seller "Co-dependent No More," Beattie says that we "suffer from that vague but penetrating affliction, low self-worth" and that "self-love" is the cure.

One of the chapters in her book, in fact, is entitled, "Have a Love Affair with yourself." She suggests we stop torturing ourselves and try to raise our view of ourselves.

How do we do that? She says: "Right now, we can give ourselves a big emotional and mental hug. We are okay. It's wonderful to be who we are. Our thoughts are okay. Our feelings are appropriate. We're right where we're supposed to be today, this moment. There is nothing wrong with us. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with us." (What about Romans 3:23 "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.")

Joyce Meyer says Melody is teaching blasphemy.

Unknown said...

THE ONE TRUE CHURCH
by Fr. Arnold Damen, S.J. (1815 - 1890)
Imprimatur:
Michael Augustine, Archbishop of New York.


The Only Church That Christ Established Is The Catholic Church. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned." [Mark 16:16].

I.
My Dearly Beloved Christians, from these words of our Divine Savior, it has already been proved to you, that faith is necessary for salvation. And without faith there is no salvation. Without faith there is eternal damnation. Read your own Protestant Bible [St. Mark 16:16], and you will find it stronger there than in the Catholic Bible.

Now then, what kind of faith must a man have to be saved? Will any faith do? Why, if any faith will do, the devil himself will be saved, for the Bible says the devils believe and tremble.

It is, therefore, not a matter of indifference what religion a man professes. He must profess the right and true religion, and without that, there is no hope of salvation. For it stands to reason, my dear people, that if God reveals a thing or teaches a thing, He wants you to believe it. Not to believe, is to insult God.

Doubting His word, or believing with doubt and hesitating, is an insult to God, because it is doubting His Sacred Word. We must, therefore, believe without doubting, without hesitating.

I have said, outside of the Catholic Church there is no divine faith. Some of the Protestant friends will be shocked at this, to hear me say that outside of the Catholic Church there is no divine faith, and that without faith there is no salvation, but damnation. I will prove all I have said.

I have said that outside of the Catholic Church there can be no divine faith. What is divine faith? When we believe a thing upon the authority of God, and believe it without doubt, without hesitating. Now, all our separated brethren outside of the Catholic Church take the private interpretation of the Bible for their guide, but the private interpretation of the Bible can never give them divine faith.

Suppose for a moment, there is a Presbyterian, who reads his Bible. From the reading of his Bible he comes to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is God. Now, you know this is the most essential of all Christian doctrines, the foundation of all Christianity. From the reading of his Bible, he comes to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is God. And he is a sensible man, an intelligent man, and not a presumptuous man. And he says, "Here is my Unitarian neighbor, who is just as reasonable and intelligent as I am, as honest, as learned, and as prayerful as I am. And from the reading of the Bible, he comes to the conclusion that Christ is not God at all. "Now," says he, "to the best of my opinion and judgment, I am right and my Unitarian neighbor is wrong. But after all," says he, "I may be mistaken! Perhaps I have not the right meaning of the text, and if I am wrong, perhaps he is right after all. But, to the best of my opinion and judgment, I am right and he is wrong."

On what does he believe? On what authority? On his own opinion and judgment. And what is that? A human opinion, human testimony, and therefore, a human faith. He cannot say positively, "I am sure, positively sure, as sure as there is a God in heaven, that this is the meaning of the text." Therefore, he has no other authority but his own opinion and judgment, and what his preacher tells him. But the preacher is a smart man. There are many smart Unitarian preachers also, but that proves nothing. It is only human authority, and nothing else, and therefore, only human faith. What is human faith? Believing a thing upon the testimony of man. Divine faith is believing a thing on the testimony of God.

II.
The Catholic has divine faith, and why? Because the Catholic says, "I believe in such and such a thing." Why? "Because the Church teaches me so." And why do you believe the Church? "Because God has commanded me to believe the teaching of the Church. And God has threatened me with damnation, if I do not believe the Church. And we are taught by St. Peter, in his epistle, "No prophecy of Scripture is made by private interpretation ... for the unlearned and unstable wrest ... Scriptures ... to their own descruction."

That is strong language, my dear people, but that is the language of St. Peter, the head of the Apostles. The unlearned and unstable wrest the Bible to their own damnation! And yet, the Bible is the book of God, the language of inspiration, when we have a true Bible, as we Catholics have, but you Protestants have not.

But, my dearly beloved Protestant friends, do not be offended at me for saying that. Your own most learned preachers and bishops tell you that. Some have written whole volumes in order to prove that the English translation, which you have, is a very faulty and false translation.
Now, therefore, I say that the true Bible is what the Catholics have, the Latin Vulgate. And the most learned among the Protestants themselves have agreed that the Latin Vulgate Bible, which the Catholic Church always makes use of, is the best in existence. And therefore, as you may have perceived, when I preach I give the text in Latin, because the Latin text of the Vulgate is the best extant.

III.
Now, they may say that Catholics acknowledge the Word of God, that it is the language of inspiration, and therefore, we are sure that we have the Word of God. But, my dear people, the very best thing may be abused, and therefore, our Divine Savior has given us a living teacher, to give us the true meaning of the Bible.

And He has provided a teacher with infallibility. And this was absolutely necessary, for without infallibility, we could never be sure of our faith. There must be an infallibility. And we see that in every well-ordered government, in every government, in England, in the United States, and in every country, empire and republic, there is a Constitution and a supreme law.

But you are not at liberty to explain the Constitution and supreme law as you think proper. For then, there would be no more law if every man were allowed to explain the law and Constitution as he should think proper.

Therefore, in all governments there is a supreme judge and supreme court, and to the supreme judge is referred all different understandings of the law and the Constitution. By the decisions of the supreme judge all have to abide, and if they did not abide by that decision, my dear people, there would be no law any more, but anarchy, disorder and confusion.

Again, suppose for a moment that the Blessed Savior has been less wise than human governments. That He had not provided for the understanding of His Constitution, and of His Law of the Church of God. If He had not, my dear people, it would never have stood as it has stood for the last eighteen hundred and fifty-four years. He has then established a Supreme Court, a Supreme Judge in the Church of the Living God.

IV.
It is admitted on all sides, by Protestants and Catholics alike, that Christ has established a Church. And strange to say, all our Protestant friends acknowledge, too, that he has established only one Church, only one Church. For whenever Christ speaks of His Church, it is always in the singular. Bible readers, remember that. My Protestant friends, pay attention. He says, "Hear the Church," not hear the churches. "I have built My Church upon a rock," not My churches.
Whenever He speaks, whether in figures or parables of His Church, He always conveys to the mind a oneness, a union, a unity.

He speaks of His Church as a sheepfold, in which there is but one shepherd, that is the head of all. And the sheep are made to follow his voice, "Other sheep I have who are not of this fold." One fold, you see. He speaks of His Church as of a kingdom, in which there is but one king to rule all. And He speaks of His Church as a family in which there is but one father at the head. He speaks of His Church as a tree, and all the branches of that tree are connected with the trunk, and the trunk with the roots, and Christ is the root. The trunk is Peter and the Popes, the large branches are the bishops, the smaller branches the priests, and the fruit upon that tree are the faithful throughout the world. The branch, says He, that is cut off from that tree shall wither away, produce no fruit, and is only fit to be cast into the fire, that is, damnation.

This is plain speaking, my dear people, but there is no use in covering the truth. I want to speak the truth to you, as the Apostles preached it in their time: No salvation outside of the Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

V.
Now, which is that Church? There are now three hundred and fifty different Protestant churches in existence, and almost every year one or two more are added. Besides this number, there is the Catholic Church.

Now, which of all these various churches is the one true Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for all claim to be the Church of Jesus?

But, my dear beloved people, it is evident no church can be the Church of Jesus except the one that was established by Jesus. And when did Jesus establish His Church? When? When He was here upon earth. And how long ago is it that Christ was upon earth? You know our Christian era dates from Him. He was born many centuries ago. That is an historical fact admitted by all. He lived on earth thirty-three years. That was about nineteen centuries before our time. That is the time Christ established His Church on earth. Any Church, that has not existed this long, is not the Church of Jesus Christ, but is the institution or invention of some man, but not of God, not of Christ.

Now, where is the Church and which is the Church that has existed this long? All history informs you, it is the Catholic Church. She, and she only, among all Christian denominations on the face of the earth, has existed so long. All history, bears testimony to this, not only Catholic history, but Pagan history, Jewish history and Protestant history, indirectly.

The history of all nations, of all people, bears testimony that the Catholic Church is the oldest and the first. It is the one established by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

If there be any Protestant preacher who can prove that the Catholic Church has come into existence since that time, let him come to see me, and I will give him a thousand dollars. My dear preachers, here is a chance of making money, a thousand dollars for you.

Not only all history, but all the monuments of antiquity bear testimony to this, and all the nations of the earth proclaim it. Call on one of your preachers and ask him which was the first church, the first Christian Church. Was it the Presbyterian, the Episcopalian, the Church of England, the Methodist, the Universalist or the Unitarian? And they will answer you, it was the Catholic Church.

But, my dear friend, if you admit that the Catholic Church is the first and the oldest, the Church established by Christ, why are you not a Catholic? To this they answer that the Catholic Church has become corrupted, has fallen into error, and therefore, it was necessary to establish a new church. A new church, a new religion.

And to this we answer, if the Catholic Church had been once the true church, then she is still true, and shall be the true Church of God to the end of time, or Jesus Christ has deceived us.
Hear me Jesus, hear what I say! I say, that if the Catholic Church now, in the nineteenth century, is not the true Church of God as she was 1854 years ago, then I say, Jesus, Thou hast deceived us and Thou art an impostor! And if I do not speak the truth, Jesus, strike me dead in this pulpit. Let me fall dead in this pulpit, for I do not want to be a preacher of a false religion!

VI.
I will prove what I have said. If the Catholic Church has been once the true Church of God, as admitted by all, then she is the true Church still, and shall be the true Church of God until the end of time. For Christ has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church. He says that He has built it upon a rock, and that the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.
Now, my dear people, if the Catholic Church has fallen into error, then the gates of hell have prevailed against her. And if the gates of hell have prevailed against her, then Christ has not kept his promise. Then He has deceived us, and if He has deceived us, then He is an impostor! If He be an impostor, then He is not God, and if He be not God, then all Christianity is a cheat and an imposition.

Again, in St. Matthew, 28:19-20. Our Divine Savior says to His Apostles: "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you. Lo," says He, "I, Jesus, The Son of the Living God, I, the Infinite Wisdom, the Eternal Truth, am with you all days, even until the end of the world."

Christ, then, solemnly swears that He shall be with His Church all days to the end of time, to the consummation of the world. But Christ cannot remain with the Church that teaches error, or falsehood, or corruption. If, therefore, the Catholic Church has fallen into error and corruption, as our Protestant friends say she has, then Christ must have abandoned her. If so, He has broken His oath. If He has broken His oath He is a perjurer, and there is no Christianity at all. Again, our Divine Savior [St. John, 14th chapter] has promised that He would send to His Church the Spirit of Truth, to abide with her forever. If, then, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, teaches the Church all truth and teaches her all truth forever, then there never has been, and never can be, one single error in the Church of God. For where there is all truth, there is no error whatsoever.
Christ has solemnly promised that He will send to the Church the Spirit of Truth, who shall teach all truth forever. Therefore, there has never been a single error in the Church of God, or Christ has failed in His promises if there has.

Again, Christ commands us to hear and believe the teachings of the Church in all things, at all times and in all places. He does not say hear the Church for a thousand years or for fifteen hundred years, but hear the Church, without any limitation, without any reservation, or any restriction of time whatever. That is, at all times, in all things until the end of time. And he that does not hear the Church let him be unto thee, says Christ, as a heathen and as a publican. Therefore, Christ says that those who refuse to hear the Church must be looked upon as heathens, and what is a heathen? One that does not worship the true God. And a publican is a public sinner. This is strong language. Could Christ command me to believe the Church if the Church could have led me astray, or could lead me into error? If the teaching of the Church be corrupt, could He, the God of truth, command me without any restriction or limitation to hear and believe the teachings of the Church which He has established?

Again, Our Divine Savior commands me to hear and believe the teaching of the Church in the same manner as if He Himself were to speak to us. "He that heareth you, heareth Me," says He to the Apostles, "And he that despiseth you, despiseth Me." So when I believe what the Church teaches, I believe what God teaches. If I refuse what the Church teaches, I refuse what God teaches.

So that Christ has made the Church the organ by which He speaks to man. He tells us positively that we must believe the teaching of the Church as if He Himself were to speak to us.
Therefore, says St. Paul, in his Epistle to Timothy, "The Church is the ground", that is, the strong foundation, "and the pillar of the truth." Take the ground or foundation of this edifice away, and it crumbles down. So with regard to these pillars, upon which the roof rests, take them away and the roof will fall in. So St. Paul says, "The Church is the ground and the pillar of truth," and the moment you take away the authority of the Church of God you induce all kinds of errors and blasphemous doctrines. Do we not see it?

VII.
In the sixteenth century Protestantism did away with the authority of the Church and constituted every man his own judge of the Bible, and what was the consequence? Religion upon religion, church upon church, sprang into existence, and has never stopped springing up new churches, to this day. When I gave my Mission in Flint, Michigan, I invited, as I have done here, my Protestant friends to come and see me.
A good and intelligent man came to me and said:
I will avail myself of this opportunity to converse with you."
"What Church do you belong to, my friend," said I.
"To the Church of the Twelve Apostles," said he.
"Ha! ha!" said I, "I belong to that Church too. But, tell me, my friend, where was your Church started?"
"In Terre Haute, Indiana," says he.
"Who started the Church, and who were the Twelve Apostles, my friend?" said I.
"They were twelve farmers," said he; "we all belonged to the same Church, the Presbyterian, but we quarreled with our preacher, separated from him, and started a Church of our own."
"And that," said I, "is the Twelve Apostles you belonged to, twelve farmers of Indiana! The Church came into existence about thirty years ago."

A few years ago, when I was in Terre Haute, I asked to be shown the Church of the Twelve Apostles. I was taken to a window and it was pointed out to me, "but it is not in existence any more," said my informant, "it is used as a wagonmaker's shop now."

Again, St. Paul, in his Epistles to the Galatians, says: "Though we Apostles, or even an angel from heaven were to come and preach to you a different Gospel from what we have preached, let him be anathema." That is the language of St. Paul, because, my dearly beloved people, religion must come from God, not from man. No man has a right to establish a religion. No man has a right to dictate to his fellow-man what he shall believe and what he shall do to save his soul. Religion must come from God, and any religion that is not established by God is a false religion, a human institution, and not an institution of God. And therefore did St. Paul say in his Epistles to the Galatians, "Though we Apostles or even an angel from heaven were to come and preach to you a new Gospel, a new religion, let them be anathema."

VIII.
You see, then, my dearly beloved people, from the text of the Scripture I have quoted that, if the Catholic Church has been once the true Church, then she is still the true Church.

You have also seen from what I have said that the Catholic Church is the institution of God, and not of man, and this is a fact, a fact of history, and no fact of history so well supported, so well proved, as that the Catholic Church is the first, the Church established by Jesus Christ.

So, in like manner, it is an historical fact that all the Protestant churches are the institutions of man, every one of them. And I will give you their dates, and the names of their founders or institutors.

In the year 1520, 368 years ago, the first Protestant came into the world. Before that one, there was not a Protestant in the world, not one on the face of the whole earth. And that one, as all history tells us, was Martin Luther. He was a Catholic priest, who fell away from the Church through pride, and married a nun. He was excommunicated from the Church, cut off, banished, and made a new religion of his own.

Before Martin Luther there was not a Protestant in the world. He was the first to raise the standard of rebellion and revolt against the Church of God. He said to his disciples that they should take the Bible for their guide, and they did so. But they soon quarreled with him, Zuinglius, and a number of others, and every one of them started a new religion of his own.
After the disciples of Martin Luther came John Calvin, who in Geneva established the Presbyterian religion, and hence, almost all of those religions go by the name of their founder.
I ask the Protestant, "Why are you a Lutheran, my friend?"

"Well," says he, "because I believe in the doctrine of good Martin Luther."
Hence, not of Christ, but of man, Martin Luther. And what kind of a man was he? A man who had broken the solemn oath he had made at the altar of God, at his ordination, ever to lead a pure, single, and virginal life. He broke that solemn oath, and married a Sister Catherine, who had also taken the same oath of chastity and virtue. And this is the first founder of Protestantism in the world. The very name by which they are known tells you they came from Martin Luther.
So the Presbyterians are sometimes called Calvinists because they come from, or profess to believe in, John Calvin.

IX.
After them came Henry VIII. He was a Catholic, and defended the Catholic religion. He wrote a book against Martin Luther in defense of the Catholic doctrine. That book, I have seen in the library of the Vatican at Rome a few years ago. Henry VIII. defended the religion, and for doing so was titled by the Pope, "Defender of the Faith." It came down with his successors and Queen Victoria inherits it today. He was married to Catherine of Aragon, but there was at his court a maid of honor to the Queen, named Ann Boleyn, who was a beautiful woman and captivating in appearance. Henry was determined to have her, but he was a married man. He sent a petition to the Pope asking to be allowed to marry her, and a foolish petition it was, for the Pope had no power to grant the prayer of it. The Pope and all the bishops in the world cannot go against the will of God. Christ says: "If a man putteth away his wife and marrieth another, he commiteth adultery, and he that marrieth her who is put away committeth adultery also."

As the Pope would not grant the prayer of Henry's petition, he took Ann Boleyn, anyhow, and was excommunicated from the Church.

After a while there was another maid of honor, prettier than the first, more beautiful and charming in the eyes of Henry, and he said he must have her too. He took the third wife, and a fourth, fifth and sixth followed. Now this is the founder of the Anglican Church, the Church of England.

Our Episcopalian friends are making great efforts, nowadays, to call themselves Catholic, but they shall never come to it. They admit that the name Catholic is a glorious one and they would like to possess it. The Apostles said, "I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church." They never said, in the Anglican Church. The Anglicans deny their religion, for they say they believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church. Ask them, are they Catholics, and they say, "Yes, but not Roman Catholics. We are English Catholics." What is the meaning of the word Catholic? It comes from the Greek word Catholicus, universal, spread all over the earth, and everywhere the same. Now, first of all, the Anglican Church is not spread all over the earth. It only exists in a few countries, and chiefly only where the English language is spoken. Secondly, they are not the same all over the earth, for there are now four different Anglican churches: The Low Church, the High Church, the Ritualist Church and the Puseyite Church. Catholicus means more than this, not only spread all over the earth and everywhere the same, but it means, moreover, at all times the same, from Christ up to the present day. Now, then, they have not been in existence from the time of Christ. There never was an Episcopalian Church or an Anglican Church before Henry VIII. The Catholic Church had already existed fifteen hundred years before the Episcopal came into the world.

After Episcopalianism, different other churches sprang up. Next came the Methodist, about one hundred and fifty years ago. It was started by John Wesley, who was at first a member of the Episcopalian Church. Subsequently, he joined the Moravian Brethren, but not liking them, he made a religion of his own, the Methodist Church.

After John Wesley several others sprang up, and finally, came the Campbellites, about sixty years ago. This Church was established by Alexander Campbell, a Scotchman.

X.
Well, now, my dear beloved people, you may think that the act of the twelve apostles of Indiana was a ridiculous one, but they had as much right to establish a church as had Henry VIII, or Martin Luther, or John Calvin. They had no right at all, and neither had Henry VIII, nor the rest of them, no right whatsoever.

Christ had established His Church and given His solemn oath that His Church should stand to the end of time. He promised that He had built it upon rock, and that the gates of hell should never prevail against it. Hence, my dear people, all those different denominations of religion are the inventions of man. And I ask you, can man save the soul of his fellow-man by any institution he can make? Must not religion come from God?

And, therefore, my dearly beloved separated brethren, think over it seriously. You have a soul to be saved, and that soul must be saved or damned, either one or the other. It will dwell with God in heaven or with the devil in hell. Therefore, seriously meditate upon it.

When I gave my Mission in Brooklyn several Protestants became Catholics. Among them there was a very highly educated and intelligent Virginian. He was a Presbyterian. After he had listened to my lecture he went to see his minister, and he asked him to be kind enough to explain a text of the Bible. The minister gave him the meaning. "Well now," said the gentleman, "are you positive and sure that is the meaning of the text, for several other Protestants explain it differently?" "Why, my dear young man," says the preacher, "we never can be certain of our faith." "Well then," says the young man, "good-bye to you. If I cannot be sure of my faith in the Protestant Church, I will go where I can," and he became a Catholic.

We are sure of our faith in the Catholic Church, and if our faith is not true, Christ has deceived us. I would, therefore, beg you, my separated brethren, to procure yourselves Catholic books. You have read a great deal against the Catholic Church, now read something in favor of it. You can never pass an impartial sentence if you do not hear both sides of the question.

What would you think of a judge, before whom, a policeman would bring a poor offender. And who on the charge of the policeman, without hearing the prisoner, would order him to be hung? "Give me a hearing," says the poor man, "and I will prove my innocence. I am not guilty," says he. The policeman says he is guilty. "Well, hang him anyhow," says the judge. What would you say of that judge? Criminal judge, unfair man, you are guilty of the blood of the innocent! Would not you say that? Of course you would.

Well now, my dearly beloved Protestant friends, that is that is what you have been doing all along. You have been hearing one side of the question and condemning us Catholics, as a superstitious lot of people, poor ignorant people, idolatrous people, non-sensical people, going and telling their sins to the priest. And what, after all, is the priest more than any other man? My dear friends, have you examined the other side of the question?

No, you do not think it worth your while. But this is the way the Jews dealt with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And this is the way the Pagans and Jews dealt with the Apostles, the ministers of the Church, and with the primitive Christians.

Allow me to tell you, my friends, that you have been treating us precisely in the same way the Jews and Pagans treated Jesus Christ and His Apostles. I have said this evening hard things, but if St. Paul were here tonight, in this pulpit, he would have said harder things still. I have said them, however, not through a spirit of unkindness, but through a spirit of love, and a spirit of charity, in the hope of opening your eyes that your souls may be saved. It is love for your salvation, my dearly beloved Protestant brethren, for which I would gladly give my heart's blood, my love for your salvation that has made me preach to you as I have done.

XI.
"Well," say my Protestant friends, "if a man thinks he is right would not he be right?" Let us suppose now a man in Ottawa, who wants to go to Chicago, but takes a car for New York. The conductor asks for his ticket, and he at once says, "You are in the wrong car, your ticket is for Chicago, but you are going to New York." "Well, what of that?" says the passenger, "I mean well." "Your meaning will not go well with you in the end," says the conductor, "for you will come out at New York instead of Chicago."

You say you mean well, my dear friends, but your meaning will not take you to heaven. You must do well also. "He that doeth the will of My Father," says Jesus, "he alone shall be saved." There are millions in hell who meant well.

You must do well, and be sure you are doing well, to be saved. I thank my separated brethren for their kindness in coming to these controversial lectures. I hope I have said nothing to offend them. Of course, it would be nonsense for me not to preach Catholic doctrines.

Robb said...

wow, I really gotta turn dear ol' Mickey on to NA. What a luvable soul he/she/it is!!

Ignore the fart, Kyle. I see him and his scared sh*tless of God type everywhere in the Blogosphere. You, however, are bigger and better and stronger than that frother. Come back to us here. We need you, man!

Keep The Faith*
Robb

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.