This is my spiritual blog. Grace is critical to get us through these disturbing times.
Living with tares
My brother and I were driving through Kansas recently, talking about deep philosophical and political topics. We were on the topic of why there is evil in the world, trying to figure out who is causing all the harm to society. The list was pretty long and included socialists, technocrats, leftists, LGBTQ radicals, RINOs, ourselves,…
The Eucharist and our DNA
You’ve heard the old saying, “You are what you eat.” Well, there’s a new field of study called Nutrigenomics, a branch of nutritional genomics that studies the effects of foods on gene expression. It turns out that the saying is quite literally true. What we eat does have an effect on our genes. Therefore, it’s…
When reason and emotions fail there is communion
A few years ago, I was making a holy hour of adoration in front of the blessed sacrament. (That’s Catholic speak for I was praying in front of the Host that we believe is the body of Christ.) I was contemplating a troublesome question. Can’t remember exactly what I was thinking about, but whatever it…
There is no third option
That’s why I think the notion that we can serve ourselves and be the masters of our own fate is a facade. We are made to serve. We will be slaves, either to God or to satan. There’s no third option. Choosing ourselves makes us slaves to satan.
The suffering caused by avoiding suffering
We can no longer tolerate seeing a suffering Jesus. Nor can we be bothered by the compunction which tells us to attach our sufferings to His. We do not want death and suffering. We want only the resurrection and joy that his suffering brought us.
Review of the movie Nefarious
The movie Nefarious is a Christian movie billed as a horror film. I’m not sure it is either. To me, it is a tragedy, and not necessarily in the Shakespearean sense of the word. To explain what I mean by that, I’ll have to tell you how the movie ends. So fair warning. Stop reading…
Salt
One way or another, you are salt. You can be salt to slow the decay of the world. Or you can be salt that is trampled on by the decaying world.
Fill your jars
Hard times are coming. Mother can wait no longer. We must fill our jars and tell others to do the same.
Mercy is worth the drive
No one was allowed to publish or perform the piece outside the confines of the Sistine Chapel during Holy Week “on pains of excommunication!” One day while working, I heard a song on the radio about a pub where people would come from miles around just to hear one particular song in the jukebox. Apparently,…
Maundy Thursday and the Mother of all Mandates
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Albert Camus’ The Stranger is a Stranger to Things of the Spirit
I recently read The Stranger by Albert Camus. The main character, for some critics, is admirably stoic, not willing to bend his will to the absurdity of life, faithful to his nihilistic ideals. Some think that Merusault does a heroic job of controlling or ignoring his human emotions because of his firm belief that nothing…
My acceptance of a religious exemption from the vaccines
“Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and give unto God what is God’s.” Luke 20:25 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 I am accepting the religious exemption from the vaccine mandate for teachers in the State of Washington.…
National Religious Affairs Bureau of Seattle holds hearing to administer punishment of pastor
This is a true story copied directly from a recent email by ChinaAid. I have changed the names to Americanize it and embellished the story with the mention of Facebook instead of Wechat. I figure we might as well get used to hearing what our future sounds like.
Critical Grace Theory
Grace is critical to the proper functioning of society. Without it, a diverse society will end up destroying itself.
First full-capacity concert in NYC gives nod to father of lies
So to sum it up, the first fully-vaccinated concert was played by “the only one who’s able to represent satan himself.”
Real Preppers Love Jesus
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be…
Sometimes we try too hard
We need to stop, rest, get down low, humble ourselves, look around and then fly out the door. Jesus is the door (John 10:7). This winter, I got creative and built myself a makeshift greenhouse out of the shell of a carport that we’re no longer using. I just covered it with a $25 sheet…
The Lord who crushes wars is our assassin’s mace
Behold now, the Assyrians are increased in their might; they are exalted, with their horses and riders; they glory in the strength of their foot soldiers; they trust in shield and spear, in bow and sling, and know not that thou art the Lord who crushes wars;
Dear social justice warriors
Are you looking for a group to join that actually believes in the sentence “black lives matter” so much so that there is NO distinction between races? Want to join a family where there is no distinction between classes and no differences between the sexes? Welcome to Christ’s kingdom! If you’re starting to see that…
Spiritual growth from homelessness
I drove past a homeless encampment yesterday and it reminded me of the shanty towns we used to have in America. Especially in the 1930s, there were many thousands who lived in cardboard villages on the outskirts of big cities. I got to thinking about our collective human history and how homelessness has always been…
RL Martin 