This is NOT A Test

This year, I got fired from my job just before Ash Wednesday... found a new job.. got robbed at the new job.. and had some other issues. I am blessed. I am in the process of having my faith tempered by God.

Notice that I said “tempered”, and not “tested” (something I wrote about a few years ago here).

A teacher must test in order to discover what their students do or don’t know and believe. God doesn’t need to test us because He already knows what we know and believe.

Just as a blacksmith heats iron in a forge to shape it and make it stronger, God allows us to pass through a forge of trials in order to shape us and make our faith stronger. He tempers us.

So when you go through trials and difficulties, don’t despair and become fearful. Rejoice. Because God is working on you, to temper you and shape you into who He wants you to be.

Due to my unplanned job change, I am still struggling to get by. Your help and assistance will be greatly appreciated! Donate securely with PayPal. Thank you, and God bless you!

A Scary Event It Is When One Gets Robbed

I have held off for a few days writing about this incident that took place at work Friday night. Mostly because I needed to just get it a bit behind me first.

The store where I work at was robbed. More specifically, I was the lone clerk working at the store when it was robbed. The store is a convenience store that is part of a locally owned chain.

The day had been going pretty good, too. Business had been fairly brisk, which is typical for a Friday evening. I had commented to a lady, one of the last customers I served, how I was surprised that it was almost 8:00 P.M. She left, and I decided since it was quiet, that time would be a chance to have a quick smoke.

I had been outside for a couple of minutes, when I saw someone slowly approaching the store on foot. It was a young man as it turned out. He was wearing a jacket with a hood, and he was looking down at the ground as he approached.

When he got up to where I was standing by the door, he told me “get back inside”. It was then that he was in the light and I could see that his face was covered with a black mask. The mask had holes torn into it for his eyes.

He then reached under his shirt and pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and then told me to lock the door behind me and that he wanted everything in the register. He said, “do what I tell you to do and you won’t get hurt”.

So I went in, he followed, and I locked the door behind me. The thing is, the door there is a double door, and to be truly locked, you have to flip the top lever on the one door up, and then flip the bottom lever down. I didn’t flip the levers, just turned the bolt on the "main" door into the locked position. As I was going behind the counter, he flipped the “Open” sign around to “Closed”, and then came behind the counter.

He squatted in the floor behind the counter so he couldn't be seen from outside, and handed me a black plastic bag to put the money into. I was putting the money into the bag, when a customer who had pulled up to the gas pumps came to the store’s door. The customer attempted to open the door. Because I had not flipped the levers as I mentioned above, the doors both partially “opened”.

The customer gave me a confused look, because he knew we don’t close at 8 o’clock. I mouthed the words “help” and “robbery”, but the customer didn't understand, even though I was obviously stuffing money into a black plastic shopping bag.

The robber was just as unaware of the customer at the door, as the customer was of him. The robber said to me. “I know for a fact that you have the combination to the top safe and I want it opened”. I replied, "no, I don’t have the combination to it. Only a manager does, and I have no access".

The robber then stood up, and took the plastic bag with the money. He and the customer apparently noticed each other at the same time. The customer ran to his vehicle and the robber ran to the door, unlocked it, and fled on foot in the same direction from which he had come.

Fortunately, I never got hurt.

The funny thing was, I didn’t really get scared, nervous, or shook up until after he ran out the door. I got a pretty dog gone good case of the nerves then.

Why did I not get scared or nervous during the robbery? All that I can attribute it to is God. He had to have been the reason for my staying calm and cool during the robbery, because He knows I am certainly not known for having “nerves of steel”.

Nope. Not by a long shot.

I guess it was really like I told my brother after I had my heart attack almost 9 years ago. He had said, "Steve, I’ve really got to hand it to you. You have taken what happened with having a heart attack really well. I would have been torn all to pieces".

I told him that "we can either learn to accept what happens to us in life and move on, or we can let it control us and our lives. I chose to accept it as a part of life and move on. God is in control of everything and we just have to learn to trust that".

Being frail, weak humans though, it is sometimes hard not to have worries...or dread...or fear. I should know. I am human after all.

In the end, I am OK. Nothing was taken from me, and I was right back at work the next night, although not alone this time.

I also got inspiration from the whole thing. I now have a new reason to stop smoking!

Embarrassed Again

As many of you already know, I was fired from my previous job back in January, as I told you in a previous post here.

At the time, I did not want to go into the details of the reason I was given for being fired, so I will now. My former employer had told me, and the young lady that I worked with, that he was going to have to cut hours. She had found out a few weeks earlier that she and her husband were expecting their first child. She had to miss some work due to some related problems, and then she was laid off. Meanwhile, my hours were cut from 40 per week, to 26 per week. No one else had any hours cut.

Then, my former employer hired four new employees. One was full time, and the other 3 were part time. So in talking to another employee, I had complained about my hours being cut, while no one else was cut, and the fact that new employees were hired. I suppose that my having been with this company the longest did not count.

Any way, my employer was told that I had complained about my hours being cut and his hiring more people, so he said he was firing me because I had complained.

So, I finally found a new job 2 weeks ago. I started out at less pay per hour, but at least I am working and getting 40 hours per week.

The thing is, being unemployed for 3 weeks with no money coming in, combined with already being in a financial bind because of my reduced work hours, has really put me behind on my necessities, like the rent, power bill, and such.

It was also time to renew the license plate for my car, and have it inspected. I have not been able to have that done, because the check engine light was on, and they can not inspect a car until the reason for it being on is repaired. I had the repairs done by a mechanic friend, and I now owe him $270.00 for the parts alone.

I have been getting by on food by eating ramen noodles, beans and rice, and pasta. Sometimes I get tuna and maybe chicken when it’s on sale.

I owe a months rent, and a power bill (I have been using a portable kerosene heater to heat with to reduce the power bill), and still can’t get the car inspection and license renewal done because I only have $3.50 left in the bank. In other words, I am already in the red over $800.00 before I even get started.

So, once again, I am asking my blog readers and friends to please make a donation to me through PayPal. I hate to ask you to do this, but I have nowhere else to turn.

If you can’t make a donation, your prayers are surely needed and deeply appreciated!

Thank you for reading and following Faith of the Fathers blogs!

Your brother in Christ,

Steve Smith

Ash Wednesday (Goffine's Devout Instructions)

Why is this day thus named?

Because on this day the Church blesses ashes, and places them on the heads of her faithful children, saying: "Remember man, thou art dust, and unto dust thou shaft return."

Why is this done?

St. Charles Borromeo gives us the following reasons for this practice: that the faithful may be moved to sincere humility of heart; that the heavenly blessing may descend upon them, by which they, being really penitent, will weep with their whole soul for their sins, remembering how earth was cursed because of sin, and that we have all to return to dust; that strength to do true penance may be given the body, and that our soul may be endowed with divine grace to persevere in penance.

With such thoughts let the ashes be put upon your head, while you ask in all humility and with a contrite heart, for God’s mercy and grace.

Is the practice of putting ashes upon our heads pleasing to God?

To read more, please click here.

The Pope offers Mass in the Sanctae Marthae Chapel for the Copts killed in Libya

Pope Francis (AP)

Vatican City, 17 February 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis offered this morning's Mass in the Chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae for the 21 Egyptian Copts murdered yesterday in Libya, whose funerals will be held today.

“Let us offer this Mass for our 21 brother Copts, beheaded for the simple fact of being Christians. Let us pray for them, so that the Lord may welcome them as martyrs, for their families, and for my brother Tawadros, who suffers deeply”.

He went on to pronounce the antiphon from Psalm 31: “For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me”.

Yesterday afternoon the Holy Father telephoned the Patriarch, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, to express his participation in the profound sorrow of the Orthodox Coptic Church for the recent barbaric massacre of Egyptian Copts at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. He assured him of his prayers and today, the day of the victims' funerals, joined spiritually in the prayers and the suffering of the Coptic Church, in the morning Eucharistic celebration.

You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

Obama Claims Islamic State Murder of Christians Unrelated to Christianity | FrontPage Magazine

The following excerpts are from Frontoage Mag:

Obama’s condemnations of terror look a whole lot like alibis. Take his response to the brutal Islamic State beheadings of Coptic Christians in Libya, after his disastrous regime change war there.

The title of the ISIS video is “A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross.”

The Islamic State Jihadists call Christians “Crusaders” and threaten to conquer Rome. They swear in the name of Allah. And they make assorted threats aimed at Christians.

“Oh people, recently you’ve seen us on the hills of Al-Sham [Greater Syria] and on Dabeq’s Plain, chopping off the heads that had been carrying the cross delusion for a long time, filled with spite against Islam and Muslims, and today we… are sending another message: oh crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes.”

“Especially when you’re fighting us all together, therefore we will fight you all together until the war lays down its burdens and Jesus peace be upon him will descend, breaking the cross, killing the swine,” the speaker continues.

(When Muslims say that they believe in Jesus, this is what they mean.)

That’s all rather straightforward. The White House press release, far less personal than Obama’s own claim that the Chapel Hill shootings over a parking dispute were Islamophobic, however issued a formal condemnation followed by the usual alibi.

The condemnation not only fails to mention Islamic terrorism, but makes no mention of the fact that Christians were murdered for being Christians.

“ISIL’s barbarity knows no bounds. It is unconstrained by faith, sect, or ethnicity,” the White House press release says.

Read more by clicking below:

Obama Claims Islamic State Murder of Christians Unrelated to Christianity | FrontPage Magazine

From The Dignitatis Humanae Institute: British Parliament To Debate A Scientific Procedure Which Has Never Been Legal Anywhere Else. Ever.

Note:The following is a press release from The Dignitatis Humanae Institute

Rome, 3 December 2015

Today, Tuesday 3 February, the British House of Commons will debate an alteration to the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which will allow for the first time the creation of persons comprised of DNA from three parents.

Besides concerns about the safety of the scientific procedure known as mitochondrial donation - which has never been allowed legally anywhere - there are also ethical concerns that British parliamentarians will have to consider.

In one of the two techniques, pronuclear transfer, two embryos are created and combined to produce a healthy embryo, resulting in the destruction of the embryo created from the donor egg. The other technique, maternal spindle transfer, involves the manipulation of the egg cell outside of the womb, combining egg cells from two different women.

British Parliamentarian Lord Alton of Liverpool, the Convenor of the DHI's Cross Party Working Group on Human Dignity, said: "It is essential to voice support for those who suffer from mitochondrial diseases and to ensure that medical care is always sufficient. At the same time, it is equally important that scientific progress is in line with human dignity, which it must serve, rather than vice versa. It is not morally acceptable, and it can never be morally acceptable, to destroy one person, harvesting their DNA for the needs of another person, which one of these two methods permits. This is the fast road to any of the futuristic dystopias one can find at any cinema."

The ethical implications of the proposed methods for mitochondrial donation include:

1. Embryo destruction: In the case of pronuclear transfer, an embryo - a human life at its earliest stage - is destroyed when its pronuclei are removed and transferred to the healthy embryo, which has had its own pronuclei removed. Neither embryo is being treated with dignity: the healthy embryo is being bred and made to carry genetic material that is not its own, while supplying healthy mitochondria.
2. Modifying the germline: Both techniques create what can be called 'genetically modified babies'. This may open the door to more possibilities of modifying babies even before they are conceived or implanted.
3. Parenthood: The notion of parenthood, of one mother and one father who have produced their offspring together, is blurred. Furthermore, conception is yet further divorced from the conjugal act.

DHI Chairman Luca Volontè said of the forthcoming UK parliamentary debate: "In modifying the person either at the embryonic stage (by giving a living embryo new genetic information), or by modifying the egg cells which, together with the sperm cells, are basic sex cells that form new life, personhood is diluted, the human body is commoditised and scientific practice gallops towards the normalisation of eugenics. It is a sign of how far we have come that in less than two generations, when IVF was first successfully tested in 1978, people are now so inured to scientific 'advancements', many can no longer see the massive evil latent hiding under the outer aspect of 'something good'."

The Dignitatis Humanae Instituteaims to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.

The "Doghouse" or the Happy House...It's Your Choice Gentlemen!

Chocolate Covered  Cherries from
Mystic Monk Coffee

Gentlemen, allow me to say...survival is a strong instinct. Very strong. Indeed.

If you don’t want to be in the proverbial “doghouse” this St. Valentine’s Day...and for several days thereafter...I have some good news!

The good monks at Mystic Monk Coffee have come to the rescue! Yours. Not mine. It’s a tad too late for an old over the hill bachelor of 59 such as yours truly to be rescued...but that’s a story for another time and one that I’ll just keep to myself.

Nevertheless...the good monks now have available just in time for St. Valentine’s Day their wonderful Chocolate Cherry Coffee, available in regular ground, decaffeinated ground, and whole bean regular. Their letter tells me that they are roasting it fresh as I type this.

Now maybe your sweet thing isn’t a coffee drinker...but is a chocolate lover...and is especially a chocolate covered cherries lover. I don’t blame her. I am suspicious of anyone who doesn’t like chocolate covered cherries. Especially these Chocolate Covered Cherries from Mystic Monk Coffee which their letter tells me are “real dried cherries, coated first with a layer of milk chocolate, and then finished with a layer of cherry flavored white chocolate.”

Stop drooling!

If you can’t make up your mind as to which one to get...then get both! Just order the Valentines Gift Set! It has 2 packages of Chocolate Covered Cherries, and 1 package of Chocolate Cherry Coffee, all tastefully packed in a beautiful red box.

See how easy that is? Get the gift set and you don’t even have to wrap it!

Or at the last minute you can always run over to the drug store and buy her one of those tired...lame..."I put no thought into this"...heart shaped box of chocolates that have been sitting in a warehouse since before Christmas.

So you can either be in the “doghouse”...or the happy house...it’s up to you. I can lead the horse to water but I can’t make him drink!

Remember....as always....your purchase of Mystic Monk Coffee helps to support the monastery of the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming and this blogger!

Our Top Blog Posts of All Time

I thought that the readers of these blogs might be interested in the all-time top blog posts on all of my Faith of the Fathers Blogs. Below is a list of those posts. You may click each post’s title if you’d like to read them.

Favorite Prayers and Scripture

Prayer for a Mother who has died

May 13, 2006,

Views: 15441

Saint Quote of the Day

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Aug 28, 2005,

Views: 2838

Daily Catholic Mass Readings

Sunday Catholic Mass Readings For August 18, 2013

Aug 17, 2013,

Views: 1625

Faith of the Fathers Report

Atheist Group Files Lawsuit Against Display of WTC Cross at 9/11 Memorial - FoxNews.com

Jul 27, 2011,

Views: 558

The Pope And Church News

News Vatican Information Service 07/06-08/2013

Jul 8, 2013,

Views: 642

Saints of the Faith

Sister Josefa Menendez-Victim Soul

Mar 15, 2006,

Views: 6284

Faith of the Fathers

The Digital Catholic Bible

Aug 15, 2010,

Views: 862

Church Under Attack

Syria: Aleppo priest advises Christians to leave : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Apr 24, 2013,

Views: 610

Our Lady

Mary's Way Of The Cross - Fifteenth Station: Jesus is Raised from the Dead

Apr 4, 2007,

Views: 975

The Early Church Fathers

Saint Jerome: Early Church Father and Doctor of the Church

Sep 29, 2010,

Views: 1876

Apologetics

Why Do We Suffer? The Theological Answer of St Paul ~ Canterbury Tales by Dr. Taylor Marshall

Apr 22, 2012,

Views: 4131

Approved Apparitions

Our Lady of Kibeho

Mar 24, 2006,

Views: 17778

Prayer Request To Find A New Job

It seems that I am in extreme need of your prayers once again.

Yesterday, I was fired from my job. I don't want to go into all the details as to why here.

Let me assure you all, that I did not do anything unethical or illegal.

I was essentially fired because I had complained in front of a couple of customers and another employee that my work hours had been cut. The owner had said he had to cut hours because business had slowed down. Then he hired three new employees after telling me that, and no one else had their hours cut. The three new employees made a total of 9 employees at a convenience store/gas station that has one cash register, 7 fuel pumps, and that is open from 5:30 AM until 10:00 PM weekdays, with shorter hours on the weekends

So I was told I was being “let go” for the talking and that I had not been “happy” there for awhile.

I suppose I should have just kept quiet and took it in stride, but alas....I am human. I tend to gripe when I feel I am not being treated fairly.

Whenever the owner went out of town, it was me who was told to do the bank deposits every day. It was me who was told to go to Sam's Club (over 20 miles away with no fuel compensation) to pick up ordered merchandise 2 or 3 times per week during the owner's week long vacations.

So much for loyalty. So much for staying even after someone ignited a pipe bomb underneath the propane tank in the early morning hours of a November Saturday.

So I guess it is good that I am gone after all. God never closes a door without leaving us an open window.

I had been there for just over 2 years, so now I need a new job. Prayers, once again are greatly needed and appreciated!

Thank you and God bless,

Steve Smith

No Room in America for Christian Refugees

The following excerpts are from AINA.org. All emphases are mine:

At the end of World War II, the Jewish survivors of Europe's Holocaust found that nearly every door was closed to them. "Tell Me Where Can I Go?" was a popular Yiddish song at the time. Decades later, the Christians of the Middle East face the same problem, and the Obama administration is keeping the door shut.

America is about to accept 9000 Syrian Muslims, refugees of the brutal war between the Assad regime and its Sunni opposition, which includes ISIS, Al Qaeda, and various other militias. That number is predicted to increase each year. There are no Christian refugees that will be admitted.

Why? Because the Department of State is adhering with all the rigidity of a Soviet era bureaucracy to the rule that only people at risk from massacres launched by the regime qualify for refugee status. The rapes of Christian women and the butchery of Christian children do not count. No matter how moved Americans were this Christmas season by the plight of their fellow Christ followers in Syria and Iraq, no matter how horrific the visuals of beheadings, enslavement, and mass murder, the Christians fleeing death do not engender the compassion of this president. The Christians are being raped, tortured, and murdered by militias, not by the Syrian government. This technicality condemns them to continue to be victims without hope. And this technicality is being adhered to with all the tenacity with which President Franklin D. Roosevelt's State Department manipulated quotas and created subterfuges to keep out the Jews fleeing the oppression of Nazi Germany. Obama no more wants the Middle East's Christian refugees than Roosevelt wanted Europe's Jewish refugees.

We have seen in the last several weeks that President Obama has no difficulty using his "phone and his pen," as he dramatically boasts, to circumvent the law. When it comes to immigration, he had no difficulty enacting an amnesty that a federal judge subsequently ruled unconstitutional. He has had no problem circumventing Congress to change the relationship with Cuba. This president has shown that he will push back on the constraints of law when he wants to get something done.

But there are not even such constraints when it comes to the Middle East's Christians fleeing the brutality of ISIS and Al Qaeda. The Department of State chooses to adhere to a definition of refugees as people persecuted by their own government. What difference does it make which army imperils the lives of innocent Christians? Christians are still be slaughtered for being Christian, and their government is incapable of protecting them. Does some group have to come along--as Jewish groups did during the Holocaust--and sardonically guarantee that these are real human beings?

The Christians would barely have to be vetted for ties to terror organizations, which by their very nature do not take Christians. Meanwhile, there is the uncomfortable issue that among the Sunni refugees there are some in league with the Sunni terror militias. And beyond that there is the equally uncomfortable question of the acculturation of segments of the Muslim community.

...it is time for all people of good will to say to the Obama administration that telling Christians awaiting death that there is no room for them in the inn is not only unacceptable, it is also, to use President Obama's own words, "not who we are." This season, Christians need to make their voice heard. They should not act as the Jews did, waiting for a president who had no intention of doing anything, to do something.

Read more by clicking below:

No Room in America for Christian Refugees

Cardinal George dropped from cancer drug trial, asks for prayers :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, at a press conference at the NAC on Feb. 27, 2013.
Credit: Paolo Tiranti/CNA

The following excerpts are from Catholic News Agency (CNA):

Chicago, Ill., Jan 6, 2015 / 11:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Francis George has asked for continued prayers after being dropped from a cancer drug’s clinical trial, which was determined to be ineffective for him.

“He is at peace, but he counts on everyone’s prayers that he might be of service to the Lord and His Church in the time left to him,” the Archdiocese of Chicago said Dec. 31.

“Cardinal George would like to thank all those who have been praying for him, and asks them to continue to do so. You and those you love are remembered in his prayers as well.”

The 77-year-old cardinal and archbishop emeritus of Chicago had been taking part in a clinical trial conducted by University of Chicago Medicine, while also being cared for by Loyola University Hospital.

The drug, from the pharmaceutical company Genentech, is designed with the intention of helping the human body’s immune system recognize and attack cancerous cells, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Tests indicated that the drug has not been effective for the cardinal.

The archdiocese said the physicians and others overseeing the treatment of the cardinal have assured him that the information gathered in the clinical trial will help benefit others.

Cardinal George will meet with his doctors to discuss how to address his cancer’s side effects. His cancer at present has not spread to any vital organs.

Read more by clicking below:

Cardinal George dropped from cancer drug trial, asks for prayers :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (Goffine's Devout Instrctions)

What festival is this?

This festival is set apart to solemnly commemorate the coming of the three wise men from the East, guided by a miraculous star which appeared to them, and directed them to Bethlehem, where they found Christ in the stable; here they honored and adored Him and offered gifts to Him.

Why is this day called Epiphqnid Domini, or Apparition of the Lord?

Because the Church wishes to bring before our mind the three great events in the life of Christ, when He made known to man His divinity: the coming of the wise men from the East, through whom He revealed Himself to the Gentiles as the Son of God; His baptism, on which occasion His Divinity was made known to the Jews, and His first miracle at the marriage of Cana, by which He revealed Himself to His disciples.

INTROIT.

Behold the Lord the Ruler is come; and the kingdom is in his hand, and power and dominion (Mal. 3). Give to the king thy judgment, O God; and to the king's son thy justice (Ps. 71:1). Glory be to the Father.

Read more by clicking here.

Continued Prayers Please

I am asking for your prayers for my worsening eyesight. I have cataracts, and my eyesight worsens daily it seems. I can definitely tell the difference between now and this same time last year.

I can especially tell the difference when it comes to posting for my blogs. If it continues, I may have to give up blogging altogether in a few more months.

So if you see a spelling or punctuation error in my blog posts, Facebook posts, or tweets on twitter, I apologize. Sometimes I just don't see them until well after the posts and someone points them out.

I have no health or vision insurance from work, as my employer does not offer either.

Your continued support through prayer is greatly appreciated.

I would also like to thank all of you who have made contributions for my situation through PayPal and GoFundMe, or have made purchases of Mystic Monk Coffee and my Zazzle products from Faith of the Fathers Catholic Gifts. All have been of a great help in my present situation, and I appreciate it very much!

May God Bless you and Our Lady keep you in her care!