Just Say No to Hollywood

I was watching a movie on TV about the life of Bruce Lee. In the story, Bruce was dating a Caucasian girl and they went out to see a movie. The movie they watched was a comedy, where an Asian character was depicted in a degrading way. Everyone, including Bruce's date, was laughing because they thought it was funny. But when the girl turned to Bruce, she noticed that he wasn't laughing. In fact, she could tell from his facial expressions that Bruce was not amused. Bruce was insulted instead. So she told him "Let's get out of here." This made me wonder. Today, there is no shortage of TV shows or movies that are offensive to Christians, especially to Catholics. Many Christians and Catholics would react the same way as Bruce Lee did, when they see shows or movies that denigrate or ridicule Catholics or Christians. So maybe, we should show the same courage as Bruce's date and refuse to continue watching these types of TV shows and movies. We may not be able to change Hollywood, but at least we can stand up for our principles and do the right thing.

Have Faith & Don't Lose Hope

A Catholic friend told me about his son & daughter-in-law, who have been married for ten years but couldn't have any children. Out of desperation, they decided to try in-vitro fertilization, which is contrary to Catholic belief. Instead of trying to talk them out of it, my friend asked them instead to do him a favor. Before they go through with the procedure, he asked them to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, and ask for the Blessed Virgin Mary's intercession. They did, and they prayed for a miracle. Soon after returning from this pilgrimage, the daughter-in-law called my friend and informed him that she was pregnant. So she cancelled the in-vitro procedure. Now they have two lovely children. They're not alone. I've heard many stories of such miracles from childless couples that made the same pilgrimage. So the moral of the story is, don't lose hope. Pray for our Blessed Mother's intercession. Most of all, be patient. God will intervene in His time, not ours.

Child Martyr of the Eucharist

I read an article by the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen of New York. It's about an 11-year old Catholic girl who lived in China during the Communist revolution. One night, the Red Guards broke into her church and threw the consecrated hosts from the Tabernacle onto the floor. They left one soldier to guard the inside of the church to prevent people from entering. The girl, who was hiding inside the church, witnessed this desecration. Because she believed the Eucharist was the Body of Our Lord Jesus, she waited for the soldier to fall asleep each night before sneaking into the church to gather and eat one host. On the last night, when she consumed the last of the remaining hosts, the soldier awakened. Frightened, she ran outside of the church but the soldier caught up with her and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. The parish priest, who was under house arrest and locked up in the house next to the church, could only watch in horror from his bedroom window. This girl's courage and martyrdom makes me wonder, "How many Catholic children today believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist?" And how many Catholics today would have the courage & willingness to suffer martyrdom for this belief, like that brave girl?"

Why Visit the Blessed Sacrament?

As I mentioned before, Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. So why aren't there more people visiting Him? If you think about it, our ultimate end is to be with God forever in Heaven. So we need to spend more time with Him here on earth. Let's look at an analogy. If you were planning to marry someone (i.e. spend the rest of your life with that person), wouldn't you want to get to know him/her first? And how do you get to know someone? You do it by spending time with that person. So if you plan on spending the rest of eternity with God in Heaven, wouldn't it make sense to get to know Him better? Then you should also spend time with Him here on earth by visiting the Tabernacle of your church, where Jesus is really, physically present in the Eucharist. And like people in love, spend that time conversing with each other. That's what prayer is - conversing with God about anything and everything. So next time you pass by a Catholic church, drop in to say, “Hi.” Or better yet, schedule time to visit Our Lord regularly, maybe once a week. You won't regret it.

Why Go to Confession?

I've heard this question before. Here's how I look at this issue. You love your spouse. So, you have a personal relationship with each other. You love God and He loves you. Then, there should be a personal relationship between you and God. Because your are not perfect, you will sometimes "offend" your spouse, either deliberately (e.g. making fun of him/her) or inadvertently (yelling in anger). Sometimes, the offense can be more "serious", such as going to the baseball game with your buddies on your anniversary. What do marriage counselors advise in these situations? Ask your spouse for forgiveness to restore your relationship with your spouse. Likewise, you will occasionally offend God too. It happens. It can be a minor sin, such as fibbing at a job interview. Or, it can be more serious, such as fornication or adultery, or having sexual fantasies about someone other than your spouse. So how do you restore your relationship with God? For Catholics, it's called Confession. This is how you formally apologize to God for any offenses committed against Him. This includes failure to do the right thing. So don't be afraid of confession. It's the way to restore your relationship with God.

Do Pro-Choice People Really Want You to Have a Choice?

I tried to enter the URL of a pro-life site today. It brought me to a different website instead. Someone hacked into the pro-life site & redirected all traffic to another site. The culprit was very smart. This reminded me of an incident last year. The Catholic Diocese of Oakland, CA placed pro-life ads inside trains. These ads were not offensive. Yet within a few days, hundreds of ads were destroyed. These were not random incidents. These acts of vandalism were systematic, deliberate, well-planned, & organized. To destroy hundreds of ads, hundreds of people would have been involved. I don't know any pro-life person who vandalized pro-abortion ads. So why would pro-aborts vandalize pro-life ads? I also don't know any pro-life person who hacked into Planned Parenthood's site. So why would pro-aborts hack pro-life sites? I concluded that pro-abortion people don't believe in free speech. They also believe the end justifies the means, including committing crimes. What are they afraid of? Are they worried people might change their minds about the abortion issue? If so, then how can they claim to be pro-choice when they don't want people to have an alternative choice in the first place?

How I Came to Believe in the Real Presence

I said I believed the Eucharist is Jesus. I didn't believe it at first. One day, my mom was taken to the hospital. She was seriously ill & her condition was worsening. At a retreat, I asked a priest why God allowed it. He said, "Ask our Lord in the Tabernacle." So I did & I asked for her cure. I got a Bible & chanced upon John 4:47-54, about the cure of an official's son. This occurred on Saturday. When I came home, I called the hospital & found out that mom was better. I asked her when her condition turned around. She said, "On Saturday." Coincidence? On Monday, a Protestant asked me why I visited the church on weekdays. I told her what the priest told me, "to visit our Lord in the Tabernacle." So I invited her to church. Later, she told me, "I found what I'm looking for." So she became a Catholic. I asked myself, "Can bread bring about conversion?" Another person told me he had a problem & had been praying for weeks for a solution. When he asked me what to do, I said, "Pray to our Lord in the Tabernacle." So I invited him to church on Friday. On Monday morning, he told me his problem was solved. These could not be just coincidences. So from that day onward, I was convinced that the Eucharist was truly our Lord Jesus, and not just a piece of bread.

Going to Communion at Mass: What Does It Mean?

Like many Catholics, I've received communion almost as a matter of routine, without thinking much about it. One day, while falling in line to receive communion at mass, a Eucharistic Minister asked me, "Do you believe this is Jesus, your God, that you're about to eat?" I was taken aback for a moment. I was expecting her to say the usual phrase "Body of Christ." I had to think for a moment what to say. Then I realized that this is precisely what we believe as Catholics, that the bread, after being consecrated by the priest, actually becomes Jesus. So it is God that we Catholics eat during communion. Since I do believe this, I said the usual response, "Amen", which means "truly" or "I agree." I'm not sure if what she said was proper, but it did bring to mind this important Catholic belief, which I and many other Catholics, had taken for granted. I guess it's a good thing to be reminded of this key doctrine of our Faith once in a while.

Robin Williams' Bigotry

I read over the Internet that Robin Williams made anti-Catholic diatribes on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on 6/18/07. He was mocking priests as pedophiles. If he did his homework, he'd discover that only a small percentage of priests are guilty of this crime. Furthermore, majority of the offenders are not true pederasts but were actively practicing homosexuals instead. But Robin didn't have the guts to point this out. Was he afraid of the homosexual backlash if he did point this out? Isaiah Washington gets into trouble for lashing out at one gay person in private, but Robin suffers no consequence for lashing out against all priests in public. Furthermore, Robin insinuated that the problem lies with celibacy. If he did some research, he'll discover that Protestants and Jews, who have a married clergy, have the same problems with child molestation committed by their ministers also. Finally, Robin stated that "you can't poke fun at certain religions," but he can make fun of Catholics because at least they "don't blow you up." So is he suggesting that it's OK to denigrate Catholics because they won't resort to violence? I used to like Robin Williams and watch some of his movies. Not anymore. I've lost my respect for him, not as an actor, but as a human being.

Anti-Christian Hatred: The Only Bigotry That's Still Acceptable

We sometimes hear about Christians being persecuted in other countries. But did you realize it happens here in the USA? I just read an Internet article where Bill Maher, host of the talk show "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO, made offensive and insulting remarks against Christians, esp. against Catholics. Time-Warner, owner of HBO, issued no apology. Isn't it strange that Don Imus was penalized and criticized by the media for his remarks, but Bill Maher got away with his? Furthermore, you won't hear anyone attack Jews or Muslims because that's considered politically incorrect. According to the American Family Association, "For the mainstream media, Christians are the only religious group in America against whom such bigotry is allowed." The Anti-Defamation League warns against the media's influence in putting down other groups of people, which may lead to prejudice and discrimination against those groups. Remember what happened to the Jews during WWII as a result of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels' influence on the German people? We must not let that happen again, neither to Jews nor to Christians. What can we do? We can stop watching shows that promote such hatred. And we can let Time Warner, Bill Maher, or anybody else, know how displeased we are with these kinds of shows. Let's remind the media that we should respect others, even if we disagree with them. That's the definition of true tolerance.

Are You Familiar with Other Faiths?

Not long ago, a Muslim co-worker told me about a meeting he had with a non-Muslim colleague. This colleague suffered a heart attack during that meeting and died. My Muslim co-worker was shaken by that incident. He told me that he asked the people at his mosque to pray for his colleague and the bereaved family. I was amazed. I didn't know Muslims did that, especially towards non-Muslims. I realized then that I really don't know much about their faith. Wouldn't it be great if everyone took the time to know what Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and Jews really believed, rather than rely on just hearsay, or the biased news media. Then maybe there would be less hostility in this world.