Standing With The Klien Family

As many of you are well aware, I am in need of cataract surgery. I had started a campaign to raise funds for my much needed surgery by using the crowd funding site, GoFundMe.

I had seen and heard good things about GoFundMe, but a recent decision of theirs has prompted me to remove my campaign from their site entirely.

My reason for deleting my campain is best summed up in the description given on a petition (which I have signed) at CitizenGo.org:

GoFundMe just removed a campaign... simply because it supported a couple exercising their Christian faith.

Sweet Cakes by Melissa owners Aaron and Melissa Klien refused to bake a cake for a lesbian same-sex ceremony after discovering that the wedding would have two brides. This same-sex ceremony went against their firmly held religious beliefs, and they believed that their God-given, Constitutionally-protected right to religious freedom should allow them to decline to bake a cake for the ceremony.

The state of Oregon disagreed with this right. The lesbian couple sued the Kliens, and they will likely have to pay at least $135,000 in "emotional damages" to the couple.

As if this compromise of religious freedom was not enough, GoFundMe took down a fundraiser to support the Klien family. The fundraiser was posted by a friend of the family late last week, and it had already raised $66,000 by Friday afternoon. But on Friday evening, the campaign was taken down by GoFundMe.

GoFundMe released a statement claiming that the fundraiser violated their “Terms and Conditions.” In the terms and conditions, GoFundMe explains that “Campaigns in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes, including violent, hateful, or sexual acts,” will not be allowed on their site. In deciding to remove this campaign, they're accusing the Kliens of committing a crime that was both “heinous” and “hateful.”....

You may read the rest here. While you are there, sign the petition!

I can not in good conscience continue to have my needs take precedence over GoFundMe's apparent decision on caving in to the pressure of the "unnatural marriage" crowd and their willing co-horts.

I fully support the Klien family and their willingness to stand by their religious convictions. In removing my campaign, I also stand by mine.

Top Posts For This Week

The top posts for this week are listed below by blog name and post title. Click on the post title if you would like to read them.

Faith of the Fathers:

After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram

Saint Quote of the Day:

Saint Alphonsus Liguori Quote

Daily Catholic Mass Readings:

Daily Catholic Mass Readings For Tuesday, April 21, 2015 and Daily Catholic Mass Readings For Thursday, April 23, 2015 (tie)

Faith of the Fathers Report

Bill to legalize euthanasia in Peru draws criticism

The Pope And Church News

News Vatican Information Service April 23-24, 2015

Church Under Attack

Human Rights Leaders Plead With Obama to Stop 'Nazi' Campaign Against Christians

Saints of the Faith

Priest who died on the Titanic could be on path to sainthood

Approved Apparitions

Our Lady of Nicaragua (Our Lady of Cuapa)

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Armenian, Assyrian, Greek Genocide: 100 Years of Remembrance

The following excerpts are from AINA.org:

In his Sunday sermon on April 12, "Pope Francis referred to the 1915 Turkish mass killings of Armenians as the 'first genocide of the 20th century.'"

This papal declaration instantly flared into a diplomatic uproar. It absolutely infuriated Turkey's Islamist President Tayyip Erdogan, who "warned" the Pope against repeating his "mistaken" statement.

There was actually no mistake about it: The fact is, the Armenian Genocide cost 1.5 million Armenian Christians their lives, along with another million Assyrian and Greek believers.

And, thanks to the Pope's pronouncement and Erdogan's outrage, the rest of the world was effectively reminded of the approaching centennial of that genocide, which will take place on April 24.

Read more by clicking below:

Armenian, Assyrian, Greek Genocide: 100 Years of Remembrance

After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram :: EWTN News

The following excerpts are from EWTN News:

A Nigerian bishop says that he has seen Christ in a vision and now knows that the rosary is the key to ridding the country of the Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram.

Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme says he is being driven by a God-given mandate to lead others in praying the rosary until the extremist group disappears.

“Towards the end of last year I was in my chapel before the Blessed Sacrament… praying the rosary, and then suddenly the Lord appeared,” Bishop Dashe told EWTN News April 18.

In the vision, the prelate said, Jesus didn’t say anything at first, but extended a sword toward him, and he in turn reached out for it.

“As soon as I received the sword, it turned into a rosary,” the bishop said, adding that Jesus then told him three times: “Boko Haram is gone.”

“I didn’t need any prophet to give me the explanation,” he said. “It was clear that with the rosary we would be able to expel Boko Haram.”

Read more by clicking below:

After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram :: EWTN News

Pope Francis' Prayer Intentions For April 2015

Vatican City, 31 March 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father's universal prayer intention for April is: “That people may learn to respect creation and care for it as a gift of God”.

His intention for evangelisation is: “That persecuted Christians may feel the consoling presence of the Risen Lord and the solidarity of all the Church”.

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

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