Out of the Darkness
There’s a new documentary film coming out in 2011 called “Out of the Darkness”. The film is about the pornography industry and the story of a former pornstar named Shelley Lubben. Shelley shares the hard-to-hear truths about the industry and how it is affecting the women involved.
Mark Houck, Co-Founder of The King’s Men, is featured in the documentary. Here’s the trailer. If you can’t view the video below, click HERE.
Out of the Darkness Trailer from Anteroom Pictures on Vimeo.
“In the sex industry, every single day was traumatic…” – Shelley Lubben. Find out more about Shelley HERE.
We have to do something about this.
TrueMan up!
Spiritual Help for our Heroes – Frontline Faith Project
Recently, I came across an awesome apostolate called Frontline Faith. Visit them HERE. In short, what they do is supply our service men and women, serving in deployed locations, with Catholic content on mp3 players.
“The FRONTLINE FAITH™ Project delivers MP3 players preloaded with spiritual content, especially as it pertains to military service, to members of our armed forces currently deployed or returning from deployment, with special emphasis on injured troops and troops stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan.”
What will you do for the soul of one soldier? Please support Frontline Faith and their work by donating $24 (or more). To donate, click HERE. It takes people with vision to serve those in need. Our deployed soldiers, as well as those who have been or are going to be deployed, need our prayers, support and acts of kindness. They sacrifice their well-being, their comfort, their families, their children, their spouse and sometimes their lives so that we can be free. To our service men and women of all of the branches of the military, thank you!
Home of the free, because of the brave.
Cheri, Sheila and the rest of the team at Frontline Faith… keep up the great work!
TrueMan up!
“Womanpriests”, “Pope Joan”… and a side of PC
Lately, I’ve come across several stories, websites, conversations, etc. about ‘womanpriests’. [Some of the websites 
claim to be in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. They aren’t. No matter their claims, they aren’t.] One story is about a movie that’s out, exclusively in Europe right now, about the legend of a female Pope that lived during the 9th century. This claim is unsubstantiated and completely fabricated. One story, which I saw posted on Facebook, spoke of a ‘womanpriest’ from the St. Louis area who is pregnant. “The first female Roman Catholic priest to be pregnant in history.” What is the obsession with women being priests?!?!
I think the obsession is the false understanding of freedom in our culture, mixed with a heavy dose of moral relativism, topped with a false sense of equality… served with a side of PC. In our culture, fairness has been turned into a “if they get one, I deserve one too” system. Society completely distorts the understanding of gender, gender roles, equality, fairness and the intention of God in regards to gender and sexuality. The world has turned everything into a competition and some people believe that in order to be considered ‘equal’, they must have the same opportunities as everyone else. Think about that – it doesn’t make sense.
Why is it, that as soon as a man is allowed (created) to do something, some women automatically insist that they should be allowed to do the same? The insistance includes many such things that are outside the scope of a woman’s role. See, when a man is ordained a priest in the Catholic Church, he becomes the spouse of Mother Church. Plain and simple. No apologies here… politically correct or not.
Being politically correct is not Catholic. It’s not charitable, it’s not what Jesus did, it’s not what we should do. Being politically correct asks us to waterdown our faith, to become “tolerant” of everything that’s going on around us – whether morally acceptable or not. No thanks.
As always, I’m not diggin’ on women. I’m not trying to deify men. What I’m saying is that we were each created for something great, as a man or as a woman. Those things can be (and most likely are) different.
Stand up for the dignity of each person. Respect life. Respect what God created you for. Stand up for Truth. Stand up against the notion of tolerance. Ruffle feathers, if that’s what it takes. Christ wasn’t a fairweather prophet… He didn’t take the position of “acceptance”… See, what Christ did (which is what we are supposed to model our lives after) is that He loved sinners too much to allow them to stay where they were.
TrueMan up!
What Makes Porn So Bad?!
So last post (Porn Gone Mobile) I said that I would talk about why porn is so bad. The totality of the answer can’t fit into this post, so here’s what I’ve got for you today. A great number of people, even those who do not currently look at, use, buy or sell porn, believe that there is nothing wrong with porn. This is a sign of a culture that has completely lost its moral compass. Not only has the moral compass been lost, it has since been replaced with a compass (better stated as a philosophy) that is so far from the truth that it actually denies that absolute truth exists! This philosophy… moral relativism. Relativism states that all things are relative. If you really believe that the composition of the stuff that makes up the ocean is not H2O, but actually H3O7, then in relativism, H3O7 is “truth for you”.
Sure, that’s a silly example, but it can be extended onto any philosophical issue… any issue related to morals, ethics, virtue, choices, life, death… you name it. You may believe that abortion isn’t murder of a human life, but that doesn’t make your belief true. The problem with moral relativism is, well, everything. It denies the absolute truth and leaves everything for the individual to determine. Not a good place to start. If relativism is true, then what Christ did on the cross doesn’t matter. If relativism is true, then God isn’t the ‘unmoved Mover’. If relativism is true, then there’s no definition to what manliness is. So…
That brings us back to porn and why it IS so bad. It’s not that porn is only bad for me and for some other select group of people. It’s not that I’m ‘trying to force my morality on someone’. It’s not that only certain kinds of porn are bad. It’s all intrinsically evil. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2354, states: “It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act… It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants… It is a grave offense.” The production of, distribution of and/or the use of pornography damages the individual, causing them to enter into mortal sin, a total turning away from God. It is a lie. It is repulsive.
On another note, porn is intrinsically evil because it destroys our brain’s ability to function properly. When porn is viewed/used, a chemical bond is created. The chemical involved is a hormone, called oxytocin. Oxytocin exists in both males and females. One of the most commonly known occurrences of oxytocin is in child birth. It is one of the bonding agents between a mother and a newborn child – a very powerful bond. Oxytocin is also released in sexual orgasm, thus creating a bond. When the bond is based on a fantasy, ie porn, the bond is incredibly detrimental. This false bond distorts the understanding of the sexual act. Once the distorted bond is in place, often times, the bond continues to deteriorate. Many men choose to allow this bond into their life and then wonder why real intimacy and actual giving of oneself in marriage is so difficult.
If you haven’t been exposed to porn, I urge you to do everything in your power to stay away from it. Porn is just like meth… it only
takes one time. If you have been exposed to porn, it will continue to bond you to the fantasy, to the sexual act, to the addiction. If you’re a single man using porn, the distorted bond will damage your relationships, it will be a stumbling block to finding the right spouse, it will become your motivation. If/When you get married, it will cause you to be selfish in regards to intimacy with your wife, not to mention in day-to-day activities and interactions. If you’re a married man using porn, I’m almost 100% certain that the intimacy with your wife is distorted by your addiction. Not only does it distort your relationship with your wife, it distorts the relationship you have with your children, friends and co-workers.
The good news, as stated before many times, is that freedom from porn exists! I’m walking proof. I had these distortions in my life. It takes a ton of hard work to get over them, as well as daily prayer, the Sacraments and God’s grace. You can do it! Get rid of the porn today!
TrueMan up!
Where are the Men? Part 2
In the last post, I mentioned how while attending a Saturday evening Vigil Mass at a local parish, I noticed that only 4 of 31 servant-leadership roles were filled by men. Of those 4 positions of service, 1 was a young boy altar server, 2 were Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and 1 was in the happy happy clap clap band. The problem is not the women, the problem is the men. Here’s why…
When men are absent from servant-leadership (in anything, not just at Mass) the ‘thing’ does not function properly. When a father is absent from his family, when a husband is absent from his wife, when a priest is absent from his parish, when a coach is absent from his team, when a boss is absent from his employees, when a commander is absent from his troops… the family, marriage, parish, team, company and unit do not function correctly. At Mass, specifically, we must correct the dysfunctions because they are widespread and have a large scope of influence. The way to correct the dysfunction is to encourage and challenge men to act in the way in which God created them to be. To grasp this picture, let’s look at the creation account in the Book of Genesis.
God created Adam. From Adam’s side, He created Eve. Adam was commanded by God to “shamar” the garden. Shamar is Hebrew for cultivate, protect, care for, etc. It was Adam’s job to cultivate the land, protect the garden, his wife and all of creation, but from the onset, Adam dropped the ball. When the serpent convinced Eve to eat of the fruit, where was Adam? Gone in another place in the garden? No. Was he over at some buddy’s house drinking a cold one, watching the big game? No. He was right beside her! [After all, she turned and handed him the fruit that she had just eaten from.] He was neglecting to protect the garden and his wife and failed to do what God created him to do. The Fall = Adam’s fault! When this sort of behavior (when men fail to cultivate, protect and care for) continues to prevail, the Church suffers greatly.
The choices Adam made are, in some way, the same decisions that many Catholic men today are making. Instead of cultivating the Church, protecting the Church and caring for the Church, men sit back and allow women to ‘do’. If you look at parishes and/or dioceses that are incredibly strong, that have great priests, that have large properly-functioning families and they have large numbers of seminarians, you’ll see that it is almost undoubtedly because men are involved as leaders!
The problem with men sitting back and allowing women (who are willing and ready to step in) to fill the gap is that the general population of men either don’t attend Mass or simply lose interest, although their backside is filling a spot in the pew. This sort of behavior teaches children that men don’t need faith and that faith is a ‘woman’s thing’. Many men believe that faith, religion, prayer, devotion, etc. is feminine and actually, anti-masculine. They couldn’t be further from the truth. As I have stated many times before, being manly means that a man is virtuous. Faith, Hope and Love, the Theological Virtues, are the real signs of manliness. In an upcoming post, I will continue with the thought of what happens when men and women don’t fulfill their roles and how it affects the Church as a whole, titled “The Church: By Women, For Women.”
TrueMan up!
Plain and Simple
One of my favorite websites to follow is RealCatholicTV.com. Michael Voris does an incredible job of saying things as they are, in plain and simple language. He is unafraid of conflict, disagreement and nay-sayers. Michael stands for the Truth. May blessings and grace abound for him.
I wanted to post today’s video because I believe exactly what Michael has to say. He is a strong witness for the faith. A TrueMan, unafraid to speak the truth and stand up for it.
I recommend you check out other videos from Michael, there are lots to choose from. For today’s video, click HERE.
ASK AN EXPERT – BACK TO THE CATHOLIC FAITH
My latest Ask an Expert response on iibloom.com:
QUESTION: What can I do for my 20 yr old son to come back to the Catholic faith?
ANSWER: This question is on the mind of parents everywhere. There isn’t a cookie-cutter answer because your son (and everyone else’s adult child) is unique. Please realize that the answer to the question for you and your son could take years to figure out. And, you have to be able to come to grips with the fact that your son may never return to the faith. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but a reality. On a personal level, I relate closely to this topic because I put my parents, family and friends through the very same thing about 10 years ago when I was 19 years old. I’ll get to the reason why I came back to the faith, but first, let me give a few generic answers for you to consider and possibly act on.
First off, you may not be the right person to talk to your adult child about their faith life – or lack thereof. On the other hand, you might be just the person. I recommend determining whether you think you are this person or not. Be objective, keeping in mind that, unfortunately, your adult child may not want to listen to you. Objectivity, not subjectivity, is key to making this distinction. As their parent, you want them to “get it,” but it’s not that simple.
Secondly, there are lots of reasons why people leave the faith. However, I have never come across a person who knew that the Catholic Church was the fullness of the truth and willingly left. This isn’t to say that there’s someone out there like this, but it’s unlikely. The important thing to keep in mind here is that knowing and loving are two separate things. It is simply not enough for someone to have head-knowledge of the person of Jesus and never come into a loving relationship with Him. The loving relationship with Christ comes from a conversion, or turning away from our sinful ways, and turning towards God. Conversion may be the farthest thing in your son’s mind. You can’t make the conversion take place, but you can be like St. Augustine’s mother, St. Monica, who was relentless in her prayer, suffering, penance and example for her son. What she was successful at was knowing her role in the necessary conversion of her son, who was far worse than your son, and who became a doctor of the Church.
Next, if his catechesis (knowledge of, understanding of and reasoning for the faith) is poor, there won’t be a compelling-enough reason to go to Mass. If his catechesis is poor, it means that Mass isn’t about receiving the Eucharist, the greatest gift God could have ever given to us, His people, but that Mass is an obligation that takes time and energy. Mass in the latter case becomes tedious and boring, something merely to check off a list and not something that is viewed as a privilege and an honor. This is the way that many “fallen away” Catholics view Mass. They were never taught the WHY, only the WHAT. The WHAT never suffices in and of itself.
There is most likely a disconnect somewhere for him. It is quite possible that you did a lot of great things raising your son and for some personal reason, he is choosing to abandon his faith – the faith you want so badly for him to possess. It is also quite possible that he doesn’t have a foundational understanding of the WHY of our faith and therefore doesn’t believe that the faith is practical, and that emotionally it’s easier to live a godless life than to deal with all the outdated rules, for example. If we, as parents, don’t know, love and live our faith, why should we ever expect our children to? He may have gone to Catholic school all his life, or been in every CCD class your parish offered. That’s not enough because true conversion hasn’t taken place yet.
We all need role models to emulate. There’s a man in your son’s life that is a faithful Catholic man, that “has it all,” that loves life, that cherishes his wife, that is a man’s man and that your son trusts. Depending on this man, either suggest to your son to go and speak with him, or invite the man to engage your son in conversation. I am willing to bet that in order for your son to go through the necessary steps for true conversion, that a real relationship is going to be an absolute must. This trustworthy man could be just the thing your son needs. It will take time.
The reason I came back to the faith had nothing to do with my family, it had everything to do with joy. I was on my college campus, an anti-Catholic, Evangelical, sola-scriptura Christian. I fought with people about the faith, I pushed the faith aside and I hated Catholicism. Soon, my life turned to despair, hopelessness and was riddled with doubt. I looked around at all the people who I considered to be my friends and they all had something I wanted. They had joy, in the deepest sense of the word. Their joy caused me to rethink everything I had turned away from. I went on a long journey and through their example, returned to the vibrant faith that I now know and love.
Keep the faith and pray that your son will have a conversion and come to understand and love the faith which we hold so dear. Blessings, Dave.
