Two weeks ago, John Hutt, a logger in Colorado, USA, cut off his own toes to free himself after his foot was pinned under a trailer.

“It hurt so badly,” he said, “I would cut for a while and then I had to rest.”

With the toes severed, he drove his truck until within mobile range and called for an ambulance.

It’s hard to imagine being able to make yourself do that . . . .

But if the alternative was starving to death — or being eaten alive by the local feral cats, rats etc . . . .

* * *

With that kind of motivation, one might manage to do it.

People lacking the mental fortitude to stop smoking sometimes surprise themselves when their doctor says they’ve had a heart attack and the next one might be fatal.

Supposing you were an immortal soul, created by God for the purpose of obeying him here on earth, and thus coming to dwell with him forever in heaven . . . .

The alternative being eternal punishment, caused by one’s unwillingness to cut oneself free from sin.

* * *

Words of Jesus Christ (Saint Matthew’s gospel, chapter 5):

You have heard it said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away . . . if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.

Better to lose one of your limbs, than for your whole body go to hell.”

Jesus was severe about sexual sin — his words deliberately harsh and realistic.

Fighting against temptation is no walk in the park.

God demands absolute obedience.

Earlier this year the South Australian lower house of the parliament voted in favour of a bill to legalise euthanasia.

A bill introduced by Labor MP, Stephanie Key.

It’s the worst bill imaginable — bizarre and subhuman.

Stephanie is 56 years old now – old enough surely to have had time to think a bit harder about real life.

She has a university degree in Sociology. That may be part of her problem.

* * *

This euthanasia bill virtually amounts to any doctor being able to kill any patient any time he gets the urge.

There is no panel to which he must refer before doing it.

He doesn’t have to get the opinion of another doctor, even a tame one.

He need not have the patient checked for depressive illness by a psychologist.

He doesn’t have to give the patient a cooling-off period to review his/her options

* * *

To quote ex-New South Wales MP, Dr Peter Wong:

People expressing a wish to die “in more than 90 percent of cases . . . have mental health problems ranging from depression to panic disorder . . . .”

Requests to be assisted to die are in many cases “an attempt to see if anybody cares . . . a cry for help.”

That is what people like Stephanie Key don’t seem to realise.

The principles of Palliative Care need to be explained better to the public.

Euthanasia is not necessary.

Euthanasia is wrong.

These days, in multiple nations, more and more protest-marches, sit-ins etc. . . . .

People wanting to get rid of their government . . . .

We want freedom, they say.

Such governments – often long-standing dictatorships – tend not to take kindly to such behaviour.

Their reactions vary from squirting them with fire-hoses to slaughtering them with automatic weapons.

What does the BIBLE say?

It says we should always (with very rare exceptions) obey the government currently in power – whether we like it or not.

* * *

Romans chapter 13 (advice from Saint Paul):

“Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God.

Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed . . . and will bring judgment upon themselves.

You must obey, not only because you fear punishment, but also because of your conscience.

Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, respect to whom respect is due . . . .”

* * *

But, yes, there are exceptions.

Acts chapter 4 (the apostles of Christ had been arrested for preaching in the streets):

“The officers of the Temple ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

Peter and John, however, said in reply:

‘Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.

It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.’”

* * *

So what is the message for us today?

Always obey the government, whether you feel like it or not.

Except:

* if the government demands that you do something that is sinful, do not do it.

* if the government demands that you betray the Catholic Faith, do not do it.

In such cases — whatever the punishment may be – do not do it.

But in all other cases, OBEY . . . .

Last week the media featured stories about two ladies called Kate.

Firstly Kate Middleton, booked to marry Britain’s Prince William on April 29.

Unlike most modern marriages this one will, in keeping with tradition, be in a church, Westminster Abbey.

But like most modern marriages, popular attention will probably focus more on the bride’s dress and what “celebrities” are seen there.

Modern marriages are basically an expensive party – alcohol-lubricated – at which, reality-wise, little or nothing changes.

Most often the couple is already living together.

With, often, little apparent awareness of the gravity of taking vows before God — or of marriage being a Sacrament of God’s Church.

* * *

Let’s pray for this Kate (and her William) that they may see past the tinsel and, in marriage, find a means of growing closer to God.

* * *

Meanwhile at Australia’s Defence Academy, another Kate (surname unstated) has been subjected to a dirty trick.

This 18-year old cadet “engaged in sexual intercourse” (her words) with a male fellow-student . . . .

Unaware that she was on web-cam and the performance being watched by at least six other cadets.

She complained to her military superiors, but they seemed little concerned. So she went to commercial TV with her story . . . .

Now her ultimate boss, Commodore Kafer, and Defence Minister, Stephen Smith, are publicly at odds.

Smith will twist arms until Kafer is sacked. Permanently.

Kate herself says, “It was like my whole world just came crashing down on me.” She means after realising she had been spied on . . . .

In a better world, a person would realise that their whole world had crashed if they had sex outside marriage — even if nobody was watching.

God is always watching.

God’s Ten Commandments forbid all such acts. And for good reason . . . .

No good ever comes of committing mortal sin. It’s a recipe for crashing your world — and your eternity — as Kate number 2 is beginning to discover the hard way.

 * * *

So let’s pray also for this Kate – that she might learn by her mistakes, and devote what remains of her life to obeying God’s will.

With recent research showing that a mutant gene is commoner in violent criminals than other people (this site, 30 and 31 December) we must rethink our responsibilities to each other.

One finding that I didn’t stress previously is that carriers of the “impulsivity” gene act violently only after drinking alcohol . . . .

* * *

Believers in Evolution might argue as follows:

The reason most white Australians drink alcohol without coming to much harm — whereas in the Aboriginal community, the percentage of drinkers getting into trouble is higher – is that over thousands of years Europeans have used alcoholic drinks, and those genetically incapable of behaving well after drinking have tended to remain a minority, due to dying younger and having fewer offspring.

Meanwhile, the nomadic lifestyle of Australia’s indigenous races didn’t lend itself to making alcoholic drinks, and those susceptible to bad results from alcohol ingestion were not selected out . . . .

* * *

When suddenly white people turned up with their rum etc. the Aborigines were looking down the barrel of incipient social disaster.

This problem must have been noticed by the white settlers early on.

One possible answer was to prevent Aborigines drinking.

Refusing to let them into licensed premises or to buy takeaway alcohol was inevitably decried as “racism”.

And, inevitably, the anti-discrimination brigade would raise a cry for “equality”, i.e. letting the blacks into the hotels – and via the hotels into the police lock-ups.

* * *

If the whites had been a bit more imaginative, a different strategy might have been considered.

Since the year dot, races have moved into the traditional lands of other races. Nothing new there.

What Australia’s European settlers could have done was to say, “We have invaded these people’s lands. So if we are going to stay, we must live in such a way as not destroy them.”

In other words, if the whites chose to reside in Australia, they must abandon alcohol-drinking themselves.

It would have been a small price to pay.

Alcohol, after all, is at best an unnecessary luxury.

At worst, a destroyer of the brains, livers, hearts, pancreases etc. of users — whether black, white or brindle.

Christmas Day is over.

Boxing Day is here.

For many Australians, December 26 means going back to the shops for even more consumer items (the Boxing Day Sales) . . . .

Or watching men throwing a red ball and hitting it with a stick and running around on the grass (the Boxing Day Test Match) . . . .

But won’t thinking Australians ignore both?

* * *

Boxing Day sales:

If the shops can afford to sell us things cheaper today, couldn’t they have sold  them cheaper last week?

Yes, but they worked on the assumption that we’re basically stupid and brainwashed by their agents – TV ads and present-demanding children – and will pay anything they charge.

This year Boxing Day is a Sunday, so thinking Australians will not be shopping anyway.

The Church teaches that on Sundays “the faithful are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God . . . .”  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2185)

* * *

The Cricket:

 If there are 100,000 people sitting at the MCG watching the cricketers . . . .

Plus a few million lounging in lounge rooms watching the cricketers . . . .

How many will manage to attend any gathering to acknowledge that God  exists?

Consider the huge industry of workers forced to look after the cricket ground, organise the seating, the ticketing, the feeding, cleaning the toilets etc. at the MCG . . . .

Plus the thousands involved in the televising . . . .

No wonder we have no time for God . . . God could hardly expect us to fit him in when such pressing activities demand attention . . . .

* * *

Not only is today Sunday, it is the Feast of Saint Stephen.

Saint Stephen was the first person killed for being a Christian.

Read about it in the Book of Acts in the Bible (chapters 6 and 7).

People will be killed for being Catholics in various places in the world today.

Mostly we won’t be told about it on the media.

However, if you want to know the cricket score, it will be on all media non-stop.

Also whether Ricky’s finger still hurts.

.