The opposition Coalition has dis-endorsed its election candidate for the NSW seat of Chifley.

“He’s gone. He’s finished,” says party leader, Mr Abbott.

What did he do?

The candidate, David Barker, said that Labor’s endorsement of a Muslim, Ed Husic, for the seat was “moving Australia closer to becoming a Muslim country”.

In another statement DB alluded also to Julia Gillard, querying whether “we want at this stage a Muslim in parliament and an atheist running the country”.

As he booted Mr Barker into political oblivion, Mr Abbott commented, “Attacks on people based on their religion have no place in this election campaign.”

* * *

Perhaps Mr Barker made a mistake standing for a party machine.

He might have been more free to express his opinions by standing as an Independent.

Party machines aren’t into questions of right and wrong. They are strait-jacketed by an obsession to go better in the polls.

As an Independent, Mr Barker might not get elected, but could perhaps influence the result by his preferences.

At least he could speak as his conscience dictates, without being ideologically mauled.

* * *

Mother Mary MacKillop’s attitude to politics was that one should support candidates prepared to stand up for Catholic principles. She told her Sisters, “Vote for those considered friendly to the Church and Religion. Every so-called Catholic is not the best man.”

True enough. When political parties trot out “all people should be free to worship as they choose”, they are hoodwinking us.

Real religion involves not only one’s worship, but one’s daily life.

Modern politics  – dominated by parties and hacks — tries to restrict religious freedom to what goes on between church walls on Sundays.

Practising one’s faith in ways that challenge the thought-fashions of the day . . . that we are NOT free to do as we choose.

It  will be punished ruthlessly.

Some words of Vladimir Soloviev:

“Jesus did not send his apostles into the solitude of the desert, but into the world – to conquer it and subject it to the Kingdom which is not of this world. He enjoined upon them, not only the innocence of doves, but also the wisdom of serpents.”

To make something good happen, you need two things: good motives and lots of determination

To make something bad happen, you need two things: bad motives and lots of determination.

To make anything at all happen, you’ll want determination (perseverance, persistence, toughness)

Jesus told a story about this. It’s the Gospel reading in traditional Catholic churches for today.

* * *

Jesus said to his disciples: A certain rich man had a steward who was accused of having wasted his property. He called him and said, “What is this I hear about you? You cannot be my steward any longer.” The steward said to himself, “What can I do, now that my Master has taken away the stewardship? Dig? No, I am not capable. Go begging? I would be too ashamed. I know what I will do, so that when removed from the stewardship, there will be people willing to welcome me into their houses . . . .” He called in his master’s debtors, one by one. To the first he said: “How much do you owe my master?” He answered: “A hundred barrels of oil.” The steward said: “Take your bill now and write fifty. To another he said, “How much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat.” To this one he said: “Take your bill, and write eighty.” And the master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness . . . for the children of this world are wiser in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.  (St Luke’s Gospel, chapter 16)

* * *

So does God want us to be like the world’s wheelers and dealers – and the power-mongers of party politics?

Yes, he does in a way. 

He urges us to copy their astuteness, their shrewdness, their smartness, their focus . . . but NOT their hatred for rivals, their self-absorption, their greed, their lust for power, their lying, their contempt for those whom they pretend to serve . . . .

We will please God and create a better world only when we who claim to be Christians — and to be motivated by love — make ourselves more astute, more shrewd, more determined, smarter and more focussed than those who are haters.

The owners of the Phillip Island Adventure Resort have refused to hire their camping facilities to a group called WayOut, which plans a get-together for homosexually-inclined youth.

They refused because promoting homosexual relationships goes against their religion.

Now they must defend their action before a Tribunal.

The WayOut group is seeking a ruling that business-people may not so  discriminate – even if their religious faith condemns promoting homosexuality amongst the young.

WayOut told the media their aim was to allow young rural “gays” a chance to “find support and overcome a sense of isolation” — in other words, to recruit confused young persons into the homosexual subculture and further entrench that mentality in their minds.

* * *

The resort owners, who belong to a non-Catholic Christian denomination, are finding, just as the Catholic Church does, how hard it is to get the message across that opposing homosexual behaviour  isn’t necessarily a sign of hatred, but of love and a desire to reveal truth.

More prudent, sometimes, to change jobs rather than waste the rest of one’s life in kangaroo courts being earbashed about so-called tolerance.

In one case in Canada, a religious couple closed down their bed and breakfast business rather than obey a legal requirement to offer equal accommodation to homosexuals as to traditional couples.

* * *

While visiting the divided island of Cyprus, Pope Benedict recently urged Cypriots to “strive for peace and reconciliation and to build for future generations a society distinguished by respect for the rights of all — including the inalienable rights to freedom of conscience and freedom of worship.”

Notice that he didn’t advocate “freedom of worship” only — few object to groups of believers meeting together for private devotions.

No, he also advocated “freedom of conscience”. That’s what our media and politicians hate. “Freedom of conscience” means practising what you preach.

No matter what tribunals etc. may say, nobody can make a person of well-formed Christian conscience do things that he doesn’t want to do.

With one exception. They can make us dead — something we don’t particularly want – but it would be better than cooperating in public sin.

The Gospel reading in traditional Catholic churches today:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree brings forth good fruit, and evil trees bring forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire. So by their fruits you shall know them.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  (Saint Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 7)

* * *

God says we must judge self-styled prophets by their fruits (their actions).

Is it OK to judge the Catholic Church by its fruits, some of which have been disgusting?

* like child-molesting priests who have made it easier for those wanting to destroy the Church’s credibility.

* and historical injustices by the Church towards Jews — harming them, even killing them.

I have received criticism of yesterday’s blog-post, where I defended Pope Pius XII from accusations of “anti-semitism”, by quoting prominent Jews who said the opposite.

I concede that my life has been liable to turn people off the Faith. I pray to God to forgive me and change me.

I submit, however, that the same isn’t true of Pope Pius XII.

* * *

The Catholic Church claims to be God’s ongoing incarnation on earth today.

What it teaches is to be believed as an act of obedience to God.

The Church, in turn, is obliged to live justly, so as to make God’s goodness recognisable in our actions, not just our words.

Every individual Christian must regard himself as a “tree” in God’s vineyard. God has planted us in the good, fertile ground of the Church and “waters” us by his grace, received in the Sacraments of his Church.

The day approaches when God himself will arrive to see what kind of fruit you and I are bearing.

The gospel reading for traditional Catholic Mass, today, the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, is from Mark’s Gospel, chapter 8:

At that time there was a great crowd, and they had nothing to eat. Calling his disciples together, Jesus said to them: ‘I have compassion on these people. They have been with me now for three days, and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; for some of them came from a great distance.’ His disciples answered him: ‘Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?’ He asked them: ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said: ‘Seven.’

He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to hand out, and they distributed them to the crowd. And they had a few little fishes; and he blessed them, and commanded them to be distributed also. And they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the scraps that remained — seven baskets-full. The number of people who had eaten was about four thousand.

Then he sent them away.

* * *

We are more fortunate that that crowd. Jesus offers to us — any who are willing – to enter into us sacramentally, and reside within us lifelong, if we receive him regularly in the Eucharist.

Jesus wants that. He wants what is best for us.

Do we think we know better than he what is best for us?

* * *

We look around the world and see so much that needs to be changed: greed, laziness, political back-stabbings, unfaithfulness to vows etc.

No  need to look far. Look in the mirror next time you brush your hair.

There’s a case needing changes, urgently.

* * *

Do you have any besetting and re-occurring sins in your life that you’ve given up on trying to quit?

God is almighty. He can change us. The only thing stopping him is that we are frauds.

We don’t feel like paying the price of saying No to our passions and instincts.

But if we really love God we can succeed.

Last week, NSW Premier, Kristina Keneally, said that her personal religious views wouldn’t sway her support for a bill on same-sex adoption:

“My religious views do not play a part in the legislation that I, as leader of the Labor Party, bring before the government.”

“If I look at the gospel message, it is one of acceptance . . . Jesus sat with the sinners and the saints. He was not a man of judgment but rather a man of love.”

Well, she was wrong there. Catholics know that there will be a Day of Judgment and they know who the Judge will be.

Jesus himself said:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven . . . . 

“Many will say to me on that day: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not we prophesy in your name etc?’

“Then I shall tell them to their faces, ‘I never knew you: depart from me, you whose deeds are evil!’”

(Matthew’s gospel, chapter 7)

* * *

Anyway, next day, KK found herself trying to explain how she hadn’t meant to compare homosexuals to sinners.

This time she omitted the “sinners” bit altogether, saying instead, “Jesus loves all. He accepted all. For me, that is the strongest message that comes out of the gospel.”

With friends like her, the Catholic Church doesn’t need enemies.

* * *

Back-downs and wimp-outs by fake Catholics are now common, world-wide.

Six European countries now recognise same-sex “marriages”: Norway, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, and — since just the other day — Portugal.

The Portuguese bill was subject to presidential veto.

But did President Anibal Cavaco Silva, a “practising Catholic” veto it?  No, he ratified it.

Just a few days earlier, butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, as he welcomed Pope Benedict on his Portugal visit.

Benedict spoke on that occasion about same-sex couplings, calling them “insidious and dangerous”.

Why not? He is the Pope. He proclaims Church teaching.

But what about those fortitude-less wonders, President Anibal and our Kristina?

On Judgement Day, will they try telling God they hadn’t really understood what the Church teaching was, and that it was all an innocent mistake?

God is not impressed by liars.

.